Youth Wars Part III: A New Age
by Exar Sunrider
Summary: Galactic turmoil as the new Empire wages war on the New Republic. Jedi team Aang, Exar, and Jo are more determined than ever to take down the sith. With two challengers to face, the young Jedi trio must get help if there's any hope of saving the galaxy from the dark side.
1. Chapter 1

Youth Wars Part III: A New Age

Chapter 1

Erk activated his hologram in his private quarters. He dimmed the lights, practically switching them off; he then closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them back up, his eyes aflame with a burning yellow and black. And right then, a very familiar face popped up; suddenly, Erk smiled underneath his mask.

"Kaiyah Lomax." Erk chuckled. His friend Kaiyah was a female sith, close to him. She was shorter than Erk, by a few inches; she was young, much like Erk himself. She was unscarred, but experienced in combat, in many ways similar to Erk. "It's been a while."

"Things have been tough on my side. How are things on yours?" Kaiyah asked.

"Well, 'things,' are the reason I called; there are some Jedi we have been assigned to kill."

Kaiyah moved her head back, recoiling slightly. "Now?"

"The time has come sooner than expected, but yes. The master has forseen destruction in the future and seeks to change our fate."

Kaiyah smiled and nodded in approval, then asked, "When do we start?"

"Meet me at these coordinates." Erk said, pressing a button under the hologram. "And we'll need some backup as well. Bring the others."

 **POUND POUND** "Everyone, be calm! We shall have order in the Senate! I understand your concern, but we won't be able to do anything if all we do here is quarrel."

"We must act now! This so-called Empire has _officially_ declared war; it's only normal we retaliate!"

"Two attacks in a week! This all but confirms the return of the Empire. Only _they_ would be so repetitive." A Yuuzhan Vong senator exclaimed.

"What do you suggest we do now? We've already lost many in the recent attack; the trouble we've had on Kamino has limited our options on growth in Republic militia." Calista interrogated.

"What happened on Kamino?" The Yuuzhan Vong Senator asked.

"The- the base was overrun by an assassin."

"Oh! A _single_ assassin could take on a _single_ Republic _attack squad_ , led by _your_ husband, the governor of the Republic?" He asked with obvious sarcasm.

Reminded of her husband's last message to her, Calista hesitated, her face dimming slightly, before answering, "-

"Well?"

Other Senators pushed on, "Answer!"

...

"Yes."

The room roused up. "I knew it!" "We must act now!"

"How do you suggest we do so?" Calista asked. "We do not know where they hide. Even if we did, we do not have enough to lead a direct attack on their base. _We_ , _are_ _ **not**_ , _**ready**_!"

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." A voice called. The entire room shushed as their attention diverted to him. "I am Jedi Master Dex Inigo. Lieutenant Governor, I know things about your husband, such as his battle tactics and his danger to any threat of his. A person of his intellect can help figure this out. Might I inquire where he is?"

A moment of thought passed through Calista's mind. "Last I heard from him, he was headed to Kamino. He may be on his way back now."

"Interesting. May I ask about his mission?"

"I'm sorry Master Jedi, I know nothing of his mission. Despite being his wife, he always kept mission details secret."

"Why would he do that?" The Vong Senator asked.

" _ **Because**_ , he doesn't want me worrying about what may happen to him."

"I might say he's being considerate, but I know you both are capable of taking care of each other, so why-"

"Why don't I go with him? Why doesn't he let me in on what he does? Well, unlike him, I'm not force-sensitive, and am prone to danger more than he is. And my job is here. I _have_ to be here for whatever happens."

"Now that we got that under the shoe or, however that goes, this only begs one question: what _can_ we do now?" Dex asked.

...

A complete silence overtook the crowd. They all -mostly- agreed that they needed to act, but they knew not how they could; they had much to think about.

"Lieutenant Governor! A word?" Dex gave a short bow as he passed Calista.

"Certainly, Master Jedi."

"There's just one thing that doesn't add up to me. How _could_ one assassin take on your husband? What is it the assassin has that he doesn't?"

"From what I've gathered, I think who overtook the base was a sith."

" _A_ sith?"

"We know it's a sith, but other than that, it's unidentified."

"Well, this only begs one question: How many more sith are there?"

-Days later-

Exar brought their stolen chip form Erk, and slid it into their holographic projector. Aang and Jo were present for this event as well. "We ready for this?" Exar asked eagerly. Aang and Jo nodded in response. After a moment of buzzing and flickering, a board of information popped up.

"Gold mine!" Jo exclaimed, reading through the information.

"Pretty much just military info. Not seeing anything location-wise, but still... pretty helpful, I guess." Aang said. "Where are the masters?"

"There's been some kind of feud going on in Coruscant the past few days; they're there right now, trying to help settle things." Exar replied.

"For it to be taking this long, it's definitely more serious than we thought." Aang said.

"What could be more serious than another war?" Jo asked. "This might be the third war this century."

" _Fourth_ , Jo." Exar reminded, rather strictly.

" _ **Forth**_ with we must do something to prevent it." Jo joked, earning eyerolls and a single sarcastic chuckle.

"Aang," Exar called, "What's the current status of the Republic's army?"

"Depleted."

"That would leave us in two tight spots. We could be on the verge of another war, but we don't have any resources to fight in it."

"Corellia. They have allies that can help." Jo pointed out.

"They used the spare forces they had to help us already; we can't ask for more favors from them." Aang stated.

"Well... how can _we_ get an army?" Jo asked.

...

"Exar, any chance you could rally up soldiers on Datho-"

"No."

"Well I'd like to know why the Republic doesn't have enough to stand."

"Becuase they really haven't had a need for one in years." Jo answered.

"That doesn't make sense. That's actually pretty stupid. We should _always_ be ready for war."

"After the First Order died, and this Republic was established, we thought we had killed off every serious threat. Much like the ancient clone troopers, the Resistance was disbanded, and the Jedi Order was formed; every secret force-sensitive came from out of the shadows and joined. With Jedi, who needs blasters?" Exar pointed out. "But the government makes bad decisions all the time. With the Jedi all over the galaxy, there were barely any people to help people during," He took a dramatic pause,"The drought." Exar reminded. _'Yeah, not too many people were interested in helping the Republic after all the little help they got. They did all they could, but people won't accept a little anymore.'_

...

"Have you been studying?" Aang asked.

"Guys, look!" Jo pointed to a file on the hologram.

"What?" Exar asked with a monotone, but a little confused.

"Here," Jo said opening up the file. "It says that all they hav- _had_ was only about two fleets worth in their army."

"That's surprising." Aang said.

"No think about it. How much have we fought in the past week?" Jo asked.

...

"About... two fleets!" Exar said, his tone raising in enthusiasm.

"Boom!" Jo exclaimed with flamboyant swings of his arms.

"Well in that case, I'd say this is a cause for, at least a _small_ celebration." Aang said.

"Let's hit the cantina." Exar suggested.

"Hold up! Are we gonna get-" Jo started.

"No! No no no!"

"Phew." Jo breathed quietly.

"Now first, we should let the masters know." Exar said, contacting them on the hologram.

"Oh yeah. We're not making the same mistake again." Aang agreed.

Soon, Rye, Erickson, and Viran appeared in view.

"What's up?"

"Nothing bad at all. We're just letting you know that we're heading to the cantina for a bit, to celebrate our little victory."

"What? Are you gonna-"

" _No_! We're not."

"Good. You almost had me there." Rye said quietly. "But I wouldn't do so just yet. This new Empire has pretty much declared war on us, and we don't have any resources to fight with."

"Well neither do _they_." Exar replied with a big grin.

Erickson and Viran just looked down and laughed for a bit as Rye said, "I'm tempted to ask." with a grin.

"Um... where are you?" Exar asked.

"We're heading back to Kashyyyk; we're almost there."

"Well in that case, we'll wait until you get back to leave; we're gonna show you something amazing."

"I look forward to it."

"How do you suppose we defeat them now? We just lost almost our **entire army**!" Erk almost freaked.

"Just calm down. We may have lost our army, but _they_ lost their _advantage_." Jayko replied, taking out the sith holocron.

"What good would that do for us?" Erk asked.

"Help me open this holocron, and see." Jayko said, sitting down and setting the holocron in front of him. Erk sat an equal distance from the holocron, across from Jayko. They outstretched an arm and the holocron started floating, and glowing. Every tip twisted off the pyramid and floated alongside it.

"What now?" Erk asked.

"Go further." Jayko told him. They focused harder and the holocron got brighter. And it kept getting brighter. Then it died down as something was seen emerging from the top. It looked like a pure white glow, then it dimmed only slightly so they could see a unique-looking red crystal.

"A kyber crystal?" Erk asked.

 _'Seriously?'_ Jayko asked in his head. "It's a holocron crystal. Only this kind is most rare. This one not only contains the memories of the owner of the holocron, but it's connected to him as well. It will let us know when it is near."

...

Erk was confused. A dead sith lord's holocron crystal to let them know when a dead person was near. Erk then wondered if he was actually dead. _'Wait. Jayko said '_ _ **him'**_ _and '_ _ **it'**_ _, referencing the same person.'It' means one thing'_ "The wraith?"

"Precisely. With this crystal, we will know when it is near. And we can defeat it."

"You didn't think this through did you? You don't have any special force powers, like I do. And _I_ don't even know everything there is to know about my power. So how am I supposed to learn how to do something like destroying wraiths before we are completely wiped out?"

"You don't have to worry about that. Our master has a plan."

"Involving the crystal?"

"The crystal will help us find the wraith." Jayko said, placing it inside a crystal ball which will magnify its glow. "We just need to leave it to him to figure it out. But for now, you need to complete your mission and kill the Jedi."

"I got that the first hundred times you brought it up. Don't worry, like I said twice, I have friends to back me up."

"Then get to it."

"I already have."

As Rye, Erickson, and Viran entered their Kashyyyk temple, Exar and the team were there to greet them.

"What is it you have?" Viran asked.

"If you'll follow us." Aang replied with a grin. The leaders were led to the meeting room where the hologram was up and showing.

"What is this?" Rye asked.

" _This_ , is our key to victory." Jo replied.

"It's a chip we stole from Erk, to be more specific. Luckily, it's not rigged with a tracker, and it also contains some very helpful information. Mainly military info." Aang expained.

"Well, good job then."

 _'It's a chip_ _ **I**_ _stole.'_ Jo reminded himself.

"Is that all?" Viran asked.

"No. As you can see," Exar said, pointing to the list on the screen. "They only had two fleets-worth of an army collected; we fought and defeated that much in the past week."

"Though who's to say everything we didn't defeat in the first fight was a part of the most recent attack? There could still be some left." Erickson pointed out.

" _Some_!" Exar emphasised. "Despite not having that much to fight with, we could still easily win this."

"But then, there's Erk and Ben's son." Aang reminded.

"What's two sith against an army of the Republic? We have plenty of Jedi with us... why don't we have more Jedi on these kind of missions anyway?"

"Because if anything was to happen, we're going to need all the Jedi we can get." Rye responded.

"Ah." The team said in unison.

"Anyway, the odds of them winning are very slim. I'd say things are looking very bright for us." Exar then proclaimed.

"Well that does seem like a cause for celebration. Take Viran and go relax." Rye then commanded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way... Anymore." They all shared a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Master Jedi." A New Republic messanger called out to Erickson.

"Yes?" Erickson replied.

"You are required to meet Lieutenant Governor Calista in the Jedi temple spaceport."

"Oh. Any reason why _I_ alone am specifically needed?" Erickson asked.

"She would like both of you, but I can't seem to find him." The messanger said, letting out a brief chuckle.

"Oh so you could've told me to tell my brother that we're both needed?"

...

"Yes. Wait, he's your brother?"

...

 _'For real?'_ Erickson thought.

"I'm kidding with you. I see the resemblance." The messanger said, laughing and returning to his post.

"And here I was, thinking all those kind of guys were expressionless. Or maybe that was Filoni's cheaper budget getting to me."

"What was that laughing I heard?" Rye asked, appearing beside his brother.

"Oh nothing. It was a messanger; he let me know that we're needed to meet Calista in the Jedi temple spaceport."

"Any reason to meet _there_?" Rye inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Just then, the messanger dashed back inside. "I forgot to tell you. Mainly, the Lieutenant Governor wants all of, or most of, the Republic officials to meet there to be present for the arrival for _the_ Governor."

"Her husband?" Erickson asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I believe so."

"Well in that case." Rye said, he and Erickson heading off to leave. "Thanks for tellling us."

"It's my duty."

...

Calista and a welcoming committee stood on alert, waiting for a Republic shuttle to come into view. Calista stood with a grin on her face; she didn't know if her husband had made it out of Kamino alive, and now she knew, and she couldn't have been more excited. Rye and Erickson just entered the spaceport, brushing themselves up for the Governor's arrival.

"He's not here yet." Erickson whispered to Rye.

"Bro, I can see that." Rye replied.

"I know. Calm down."

...

" _You_ cal- what's up with _you_ now?" Rye asked.

"Nothing. I've just never met _him_ before."

"Hardly anyone has." Ephraim piped up.

"Hey, Ephraim! Where've you been?" Erickson asked.

"Oh, been here. Same ol' same ol' thing."

"Mhm."

"Well this just begs only one question," Dex Inigo piped up, scaring Rye and Erickson. "Are you not going to be a 'fan' when you find out what he's like?"

"That's a strange question to ask. Why?"

"Well, I heard that he's a bit rough around the edges, a bit strict at times; he can be pretty intimidating."

Rye and Erickson wondered between themselves. _'Why would that be a worry?'_ After coming to a conclusion, Erickson asked, "Would you mind if I asked your age?"

Dex turned to them. "I can tell you're curious as to why I'd think intimidation is something to worry about, and you know that the only kinds of people that would fear intimidation from others are young ones; by implying what I did, you'd assume I am young, and I'm laying your suspicions down, telling you that I am." ... "I'm fifteen."

...

...

Rye and Erickson's mouths were agape, "Okay." Rye said a little shakily.

"Too excessive?" Dex asked.

"A little." Rye and Erickson replied.

"It's nice to know a Master that young. Teens are learning faster these days." Rye said to Erickson. Erickson nodded in agreement.

"A shuttle approaches." An announcer announced.

"And, he's here." Erickson said.

Everyone stood at attention as a Consular-class cruiser appeared in sight and descended down into the spaceport. Smoke exhausted from the ship as its landing gear lowered. Once all was calm, the ramp lowered. Once lowered, they beheld a brown cloak concealing a cleanly shaven face, with eyes of one scarred, and the expression of one deadly. But once he laid eyes on his wife, his face brightened up. They ran up and embraced each other.

"I'm here, Calista."

"So am I, Bennar." Calista exclaimed quietly, barely containing her joy.

"But we have much to discuss; the galaxy is in greater danger than we thought." Bennar looked to the crowd ahead of himself and said, "I appreciate your support for me, but right now the Republic, and even the whole galaxy needs support. In my work, I have discovered some terrible secrets of our enemy." Eveyone shared gazes. "We need to prepare for war."

The trio and their supervisor escaped hyperspace in orbit of the all-too-familiar light green and blue paradise. Lothal, reborn. By the fleeing of the Empire, Lothal had been given enough time to grow back into the grassy utopia it had been many decades beforehand.

"Lothal?! Interesting place to celebrate, don't you think?" Viran asked.

 _"Old Jho III's bar is popular; they serve 'both' types of drinks."_ Exar said.

 _'Well that's good to know.'_ Viran encouraged himself.

 _"Master Viran,_ _ **we**_ _kinda wanted to celebrate. You know what we mean?"_ Jo asked.

"You guys want to be alone?" Viran asked with a tone that let the team know where he was headed.

 _"You can stay in orbit and we can let you know if there's trouble."_ Aang suggested.

...

Viran really didn't feel the need for it, but they weren't doing anything that involved danger. Reluctantly, he agreed, "How about a little closer? I'll stay in the atmosphere; keep your comm channel open."

 _"Um, how about I open it up if or when danger comes along?"_ Aang suggested.

Realizing Aang's reason, Viran just sat back and said, "Fine."

Then the trio's fighters flew forward towards the planet. Viran just looked onward. "Those kids are gonna be so screwed if-"

" _Master Viran? Your channel is still open_." Aang piped up.

"Oh." He simply said.

" _I'm not a kid_."

Viran took a moment to process what Aang told him. "What? Well, how come you're not, higher up, in the Republic? You're not yet a Jedi Master, or anything?" Viran asked.

 _..._ Then the channel went down.

"Guess I gave him something to think about."

The fighters flew past the clouds and entered the atmosphere -where Viran stopped in the clouds- into the shining Capitol City. It seemed as though Lothal was completely born again; everything was a beautiful bright (but not too blinding bright) white, and the grass was greener than ever.

 _"Oh my- wow!"_ Jo exclaimed, almost breathless.

 _"Behold. Once this was a war-ridden planet, now it is a flourishing paradise. After it was freed from the Empire, it got a chance to start growing back; after the Empire passed through, it had already gone back. It was only a matter of time before Lothal returned to its former glory."_ Aang explained.

 _"Sounds like it had quite a journey."_ Exar said.

 _"You wouldn't believe it."_

 _"I've only heard of this place, and certain popular landmarks; I never actually... went to see it for myself."_

 _"I haven't heard of it."_ Jo said.

 _"Where've_ _ **you**_ _been your whole life?"_ Exar asked with a laugh.

 _"With you guys."_ Jo replied with a monotone.

...

 _"Touché, Jo."_ Exar replied.

They landed in the spaceports of the shining city and briefly explored the wondor of the restored planet of Lothal.

"So how long have any of you been visiting Lothal?" Jo asked.

"As far as I know, we've been coming here as often as possible. Obviously we've had no time to come here ever since we _**all**_ encountered Erk for the first time; but yeah, we've been here plenty of times before." Aang answered.

"How come I never was here with any of you?"

...

"Because... you weren't around then." Exar answered a little nervously.

"Hmmm, Aang just said that you guys haven't been here since before we _**all**_ encountered Erk for the first time."

"And?"

"I've been with you guys for two years, _way_ before we first encountered Erk nearly half a month ago."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Exar asked.

"I'm pointing out that you guys have hung out here before, without me; if I didn't know better, I'd say you guys are trying to avoid me when you do this kind of stuff. Anyone else know about this?"

"Masters Rye an-" Aang elbowed Exar before he could finish. Jo just hung his mouth open in disappointment.

"Even the masters." Jo muttered. "Has it ever occured to you that I would've liked to take some time off? Has it ever occured to you that I would've liked to also hang out?"

Aang just hummed quietly. Exar looked off into the distance.

"We might be able to change it in the future. But we came here to celebrate our current success. So for now, let's bury all the negative emotion and head on to Old Jho's." Aang said.

 _'Oh but we're not done yet.'_ Jo thought to himself as he followed along.

Bennar called a private meeting with some of the best of the Republic. He, Calista, Rye, Erickson, Ephraim, Dex, and members of the Jedi council were present.

"First off," Bennar started, "Do we all understand that whatever is discussed here can not be shared with anyone else? We may tell the Chancellor, but no one else."

"With all due respect governor, if this has anything to do with something big that we're up against, then I would like to inform my team about it; they can handle anything they face. I speak from witnessing them in action."

"Interesting. What might your name be, Master Jedi?"

"Rye Follnor."

"So tell me, Master Follnor, tell me about your _team_." Bennar told him.

"Well. One's a cyborg, another's a Zabrak, and the third is a Besalisk. They're fairly young -well, Aang is pretty old- but are unusually strong with the force; they have accomplished much with their teamw-"

"I've heard enough."

"Pardon?"

"I said _'I've heard enough.'_ " Bennar repeated. " 'Fairly young' doesn't comfort me. Jedi that young are too ambitious, and that leads to pride; pride leads towards a downfall. And being young, they have much to learn. Point being that I don't trust teenagers too much."

"Aang, our Besalisk, isn't really a teenager."

"Really?"

" _I'm_ a teenager." Dex piped up.

"That's a story we're not discussing at the moment, Master Inigo." Bennar said. "You were saying, Follnor?"

"Aang is indeed quite mature."

"Why isn't he on the council? If he's mature and powerful enough, then I say he is worthy to become a master." Bennar said.

"That's for the council to decide; we have to think about it. But growing more curious, I know we'd like to know about what he's done?" Female Kiffar Jedi master Luhon Chi'thiac wondered.

"Well we have something else to talk about." Rye replied.

"We have little time to kill, but we can afford to listen." Bennar agreed.

"If you insist. Well, Aang is -as I said- strong with the force. He has been the brains of the team ever since he joined; he helped defeat tyranny of the Empire?"

"He's that old eh?" Bennar asked.

"I don't think the secret is mine to give, of how he has kept his youth."

" _Very_ interesting." Calista said, not being the only one growing curious.

"Aang is selfless and headstrong, both excellent attributes to his intelligence and character."

"Well then, after this meeting, I want you to take him to the council chamber."

Rye and Erickson were both proud and confused at the moment. It was quite a feature to be granted the rank of master; then if he was, it might mean his being around his team less. A lot less.

"He certainly sounds like Jedi Master material." Human male Jedi Master Rek Kenten opined.

"Now that that's settled, we have a more urgent matter at hand." Bennar said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _Klink_

"To victory." Aang said as the trio pushed their cups together.

"To victory." Exar and Jo agreed before taking a sip of their non-alcoholic drinks.

"Even after all we went through, we still manage to come out on top." Exar said.

"At what cost?" Jo asked quietly.

"Well," Aang and Exar looked at each other. "I'm unaware of a 'cost', but we've almost achieved galaxy-wide peace."

"We were like brothers when we started this journey; but recently, I noticed we've been falling apart. Exar knew of the existence of the sith, yet kept it from us and caused our trust in him to be shaken; now, my trust in you guys has been shaken. The things you've done without me, all these... times off you've had, while I had to stay behind. To be honest, I think you guys don't want to be around me as much. I'd like to know why."

...

"We were different." Exar started. "All that, was before we started going through these life-changing experiences. We weren't as selfless as I think we are now; today, we wouldn't consider going without you."

"That's... a little encouraging. But Aang," He turned to Aang, "What the heck man? I thought you of all people would remember. You're like, seventy years old."

"As smart as I seem, my mind isn't what it used to be." Aang shrugged with a softened -yet slightly saddened- expression on his face.

"At least your skills haven't corroded." Jo mumbled.

The trio finished their drinks and started to leave, but were stopped when Aang's wrist comm buzzed. He looked down to see a message on it.

"It's Master Viran. He wrote, _'Check out the news. Channel 8.'_ "

Suddenly suspicious, the team slowy made their way back inside the bar and approached the counter.

"Jho." Aang called.

"Aang. What's up?" Jho III asked.

"Could you turn on the news on Channel 8 please?" Aang asked.

"News, huh? Sure." Jho pressed a button underneath the counter, which then turned on the TV.

On the monitor, they saw a news man against a wall, seemingly hiding from something. And whatever it was, the team thought it was loud.

"The storm here is building up, the sky has darkened, and lightning is spewing everywhere-"

"Where is this?" Exar asked suddenly.

"It says... a _city_ away." Jho replied.

Exar looked outside and saw a clear blue sky, with no clouds. Confused, he looked back at the screen and saw the camera turning to face the crux of the storm. There, the team recoiled as they saw a tornado-like pillar of black clouds. It reached up to the sky, and touched the ground, from what they could see (it was in a spaceport). Lightning was spewing from the pillar in no specific direction or pattern; as if it wasn't bad enough, fireballs began to rain down from the dark sky with the lightning.

"What is _this_?" Aang asked quietly.

To their convenience, two big, distinct yellow flames opened up, like a pair of awakening eyes.

"Erk." The team mumbled.

"Citizens of Lothal." Erk's voice boomed loudly, creating a buzzing sound on the TV as he spoke. "Your lives are in your own hands; I am on a mission to retrieve three individuals. One, a human cyborg; one, a Besalisk; and the third, a Zabrak. They will be seen together, so it shouldn't be too hard for you. You have until dawn, tomorrow to give them over. In case the said team is watching, I have one warning: come alone." Then the TV went black.

...

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Erk just shut off the TV from who-knows-how-far away?" Jo asked.

"You know him?" Jho asked.

"Yes. We've encountered him a few times. In fact," Aang said, putting an arm around Exar, "Exar here _knows_ him." Aang said with an obviously unhappy tone. "And an _awful_ lot about him as well."

"Oh. Well you two should get going, if you are to... save us. From what though?" Jho said.

"We're not sticking around to find out. Let's go, guys." Aang said as the three started their way out; Exar let Viran know where they were going, and that they needed him.

"Erk said he wants us alone." Aang said, noticing Exar's action.

"We're not going to be able to beat them alone."

"Exar! We've been over this; by the way, we've- did you say 'them?' " Aang cut himself off.

Exar contacted Viran so he could personally give him some extra details. "I know those signature powers anywhere; this is too coincidental to be an inconvenient storm."

"For real kid, there's no way anyone wouldn't believe you. Of course, there'd be people to call you crazy and what not, but _it_ was caught on the only galaxy-wide channel, and there's no way some kind of elemental cluster could happen just like _that_. Who are the people you say are with Erk?" Viran asked.

"Well, back in the day, Erk and I were partners. In our highlight, two new students entered our secret academy. Both female. One goes by the name Kaiyah Lomax. Her ability involves fire."

"What is it with abilities and powers?" Viran asked out of curiosity.

"It does seem confusing. When we expand our knowledge of the force -only very few can do this- we can influence the force to conjur an element at our will. The element is only discovered by your personal self. Erk is, or was, the stealthy type; that's why his ability is to disappear in a puff of dark smoke. He can blend in with any shadow, and can even _disappear_ at will."

"Interesting. Go on."

"When provoked to the limit by an enemy, Kaiyah can get a little 'fiery' tempered. She especially doesn't like when her friends are threatened."

"Now I'm more curious."

"You and me both. The other associate is called Becky Feara. I don't know _that_ much about her, except that her power involves lightning."

"Right now, we don't have time for a memory jog. I'm heading down there as we speak. Wait for me there."

"I'm thinking we should head on over there, and we'll meet there in the middle of the battle."

"That's a terribe idea."

"I know, I was being sarcastic."

"Okay, just _stay_ , _there_."

Bennar and Calista sent a transmission invite to the Chancellor and awaited a response; they bode in their room for their private meeting. The radio-like transmitter buzzed for a moment before the signal went through.

"I have urgent matters to attend to. I hope this is worth my time." A disguised voice said

"This is Governor Bennar Calfan. I'm here on an urgent matte-"

"Who is with you?" The voice asked.

"Uh- oh. This is my wife, Lieutenant Governor Calista. As I was saying, I'm here on an urgent matter. This new, Imperial-like threat has declared war on-"

"I'm well aware of what's going on."

"Y-you are?"

"What kind of Chancellor would that make me if I wasn't?"

"That's a good point." Calista mumbled.

"We need to create a powerful army to put up against the growing threat." Bennar said.

"Governor," The voice sighed. "Whatever happens, just assume I'm already on the case."

"Well what's going on?" Bennar asked.

"I communicated with a friend of yours, Master Erickson, and we both agreed to produce another clone army from his son, Brett."

"How did that fare with his wife?"

"She's actually supervising here. Once we're done, we'll bring the army to Coruscant to prepare for attack."

"Prepare for attack? Where?"

"All in good time, Governor. Now I must resume my work."

"Yes, Chancellor. One more question." Bennar said.

"Yes?"

"Where is the army being produced?"

"Kamino."

"Exellency, that is a dangerous place to be. The sith are bent on keeping that planet under-"

" _I'm aware_ , Governor Calfan. Remember the reason I'm the Chancellor." Then the transmission ended.

"We must make preparations, Calista." Bennar said, getting up. Calista grabbed his arm and pulled herself up.

"It's a shame we can't have more time together since you got back. This new war may separate us."

Bennar turned and embraced his wife. "I understand, Calista. I sincerely wish we could spend more time together, but you need to understand what we're up against. I know there are more out there behind all this; with how the sith's knowledge of the force has expanded over the decades, who _knows_ what kind of trap we may be falling into."

Calista pulled back a little and faced him, "You believe this is a trap?" She asked.

"We have _many_ Jedi on our side; if we fall for the trap, there may be a chance at escape."

"You're losing me."

"I mean if we get trapped, and there's a chance we can escape; and we _do_ escape, then we'll have a chance to end this feud once and for all."

"What will stop more sith from coming around?"

Bennar looked off to contemplate her question

The Jedi trio met up with Viran and were flying over to Erk's location. Being one city away, it didn't take long to arrive. They reached the edge of the town, but they all felt the force telling them something. Suddenly, they all felt as if a bolt of lightning had pierced them.

" _ **EJECT**_!" They all simultaneously shouted into their comms before launching themselves into the air. As they looked down, they saw four seperate lightning bolts surging and going right through all their ships. The ships were descending into a glide; they ended up flying over and past Erk, who witnessed the descent.

The Jedi used the force to break their fall, and they all landed in one piece. As they recovered, they saw a helping of twenty-to-thirty stormtroopers aiming their guns at them.

"Don't move!" One of them shouted.

"Oh please." Jo mumbled before igniting his lightwhips and spinning them around with a surprising speed. _'Perk of having non-organic arms.'_ Jo thought to himself, grinning. The stormtroopers started firing.

Erk heard the sound of blaster fire, then said, "Oh they survived the crash. How pleasing." He ended sarcastically.

Jo deflected every laser bolt that was aimed at him, while the team and Viran deflected less aimed at them. "You know what? I like the other thing better." Jo said, unigniting his lightwhips and disconnecting his arm compartments, activating their drone mode.

The six drones speedily occupied several stormtroopers, leaving Jo with only a few. Jo was careful to be speedy, not forgetting that they're clones. The unoccupied stormtroopers started blasting at Jo, while Jo was charging and dodging. Jo then barrel-roll flipped into the air and kicked -with his robot leg- an approaching bullet back at its shooter. Jo landed then launched himself, head-on to the last stormtroopers and kicked them out from under their feet swiftly.

Not having very strong armor, the troopers got the wind knocked out of them when they landed. Jo then stood over them, saying, "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down." The troopers raised their hands in surrender as Jo's arms returned to him. Jo looked over and saw every other trooper dead on the ground.

The team caught up with him, and Viran asked, "Might I inquire how kicking a laser is possible?"

"Hey, it ain't just my arms and half my head." Jo shrugged. "Now shall we?" He motioned to the door of the spaceport.

"We shall." Viran said, stepping towards the door. The team followed him, but Exar lingered.

Exar looked at the couple of stormtroopers still alive on the ground, their hands still up beside their heads.

"Exar, you coming?" Aang asked, turning around. Exar was already right behind him.

"I'm right here, dude." Exar said, walking along with them. They opened the door and entered the spaceport. Exar looked back again at the now lifeless troopers on the ground.

"Well this is certainly the place we saw. There's a big scorch mark on the ground." Jo pointed out the black spot on the ground.

"Well well!" Erk's voice shouted. The team saw him exit from the shadows and ignite his black lightsaber. "So glad you could join us." He said as three other figures stepped from the shadows.

 **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Calista joined Bennar on the main podium in his office. "I might warn you; the Senate has been riled up the past few weeks."

"About a war and the sith's involvement. I've seen it all before; I can handle it."

"They're not the most patient, and they've become pretty persuasive."

...

"Persuasive how?"

"Only some of the Senate voted for violent actions first; next thing I know, the tables have turned and most of them are voting for elimination."

"What the heck do they expect _us_ to do? Our resources have dwindled the past year. We can't-"

"Save it for the Senate, Bennar." Calista interrupted, laughing.

"Alright. Alright." Bennar replied, also laughing. He pressed a button on the podium and it started lifting, and the doors to the Senate chamber opened up.

 _Ksshhhhhhhhhhhhh_ A blow torch fused together parts of the back end of the _Delta_ -class T-3c shuttle.

"You about done?" Anson asked Sim, who gave a thumbs up in response.

"How's the thruster engine coming along, Juntah?"

"The engine is done." Juntah replied.

"It's not like the ship couldn't function before these minor repairs." Sim said.

"Well would you like to go about your duties with a damaged ship? And what do you mean 'minor'? There was a hole in the ship that could've sucked us out into... space." The color in Anson's face suddenly drained.

"What?" Juntah asked slowly.

"Did any of you guys see the Jedi leave with their mysterious crate? Or did anyone have eyes on it?"

"You mean the crate with their _secret item_?" Sim asked.

"Yeah, that."

"I didn't." Sim said.

"Me neither."

...

"Oh no."

"What are you so worried about?"

"If whatever was in that crate was worth keeping secret, then it must be vital to them."

"Your point?"

"If they don't have it, and neither do we, then who does?"

Jayko entered the laboratory, where only one scientist was the only other one present in the room. "Has anything happened yet?"

"No sir."

Jayko leaned on a counter, hands forward and head leaning. "I need to put a stop to this." He mumbled.

 _'I've lost count of how many times he's said that.'_ The scientist thought.

"Excuse me?" Jayko asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"What were you just thinking?"

"Nothing important, sir."

"Hmm." Jayko turned back and closed his eyes. As quickly as he did, he was suddenly dropped onto the floor. He scurried back up, confused. He looked around and saw nothing capable of doing anything like that. He slowed his fast-paced breathing and closed his eyes again; he didn't sense what he expected. He opened his eyes again and mumbled, "There's a disturbance in the force, but... this is much worse." He looked over to the ball and saw a dim glow. He quickly approached it, practically hovering over it. Then it went out.

" _Something_ happened."

 _'You don't say?'_ The scientist thought before being thrown to the floor by 'nothing'.

"Get to work." Jayko said sternly, exiting the room.

 _ **(I wrote most of that for fun.)**_

With speed, all four Jedi ignited their lightsabers at once. Erk gazed over all four of them and said, "Well, it looks like it's finally an even match."

"Wo-how! It's the whole gang back together. Kaiyah, Becky, you still got your stuff. And you're all wearing your armor!" Then Exar noticed the one on the left. "Now I don't believe I've met you yet."

"Ailurah Lomax."

Exar's eyebrows raised in surprise. "So this is one of the sisters you spoke of?" Exar asked Kaiyah.

"She's not to be underestimated." Kaiyah responded.

"Oh, were you finally beaten in combat?"

"Exar, what are you doing?" Aang asked, his defensive position still up.

Turning his head only slightly, as to keep his old friends in view, Exar answered, "I dunno, I guess I'd like to catch up before going right into things."

"Is now really the best time for a reunion? This isn't even a _good_ one."

Exar faced forward and replied, "Maybe. But a reunion's a reunion."

"He's stalling." Ailurah said.

"Perhaps. Just wait." Erk told her.

"You know, I was expecting to see all of us together under better circumstances. It's kinda sad, don't you think?"

"Are you done?" Becky asked.

Exar laughed lightly, tilting his head back. Then he finished and said, "Man, you guys haven't changed a _bit_." Once he stopped laughing, he continued, "Which will make it easier to end this." He said, raising his blade.

"Finally." Jo murmured, whipping his weapons and posing.

"Unless you've forgotten my power." Erk said, both black blades emitted.

Exar just grinned. "Never."

Bennar began reporting his plight to the Senate. "I have returned from a long journey with some information that will change the course of this new war."

Bennar was about to continue, but a Senator rudely interrupted, "We know the sith are alive; they are _behind_ the war."

Bennar glared for a moment, then responded, "Senator? Have you ever faced a sith?"

"I have not."

"Do you know anyone else that has?"

"I do not.

"Do you actually _know much_ about the sith?"

He struggled to speak for a second. Then mustered up, "No."

"Who else doesn't?"

Quite a few raised their hands.

"Then you have no place in this conversation." Bennar then raised his hand, and their podiums were shot back and the Senators were shoved out of the room and the doors closed and locked behind them. Calista looked on with concern. Once Bennar settled down, he said, "Come closer." to the others.

Everyone drew closer to lend their attention. "Now I realize you are aware of the sith. But I have more news. News about _the sith_." Bennar was silent for a moment.

"Well?" Some Senators pressed.

"What I am about to say to you, you are to reveal to no one." Bennar said. "Disobedience of this act will be marked as an act of treason."

"We get the gist of it your honor, you may proceed."

"Well, we know the sith are the most powerful people in the galaxy; it takes _many_ Jedi to defeat them especially over a long period of time."

Then both sides charged at each other.

Jo and Ailurah attacked, spinning their weapons around, clashing mid-spin; Exar challenged Erk, as usual; Viran chose Kaiyah as his opponent, lunging blade first; leaving Aang to fight Becky. Everyone's forms varied between Form II and Form IV, fast movements and swings coming from everywhere.

Using Form IV: Ataru, Aang and Becky swung their lightsabers around in circular motions, attempting to disarm each other; Ailurah and Jo used Form I: Shii-Cho, tossing their blades around along with themselves against their opponents, hinting their challengers of their form and what they should use to defend themselves; and Erk and Exar started their own game, switching between Form II and Form VII. Their moves were fast and wild, their hands at hard work, doing their best to gain the upper hand.

"I had a battle with the sith on Kamino. A rough one. I barely escaped with my life, but as I fought him, I searched him for any weak spot, and he had none. So I had to use the force to find any mental weak spots."

"Did he have one?"

"He did."

The duel elongated for a long time, at one point making everyone's arms (except Jo's)begin to grow weary from the continuous exercise. Erk and Exar clashed and held their blades in place. _'This is perfect!'_ Exar thought. "You know Erk, there's this saying I have: one man can't do the job of two."

Erk suddenly froze in place. He slowly moved up to stand in place. "Only _half_ the job." He said.

All of Erk's friends stopped fighting, Exar's team growing very curious. Exar stood there grinning. "The more the merrier." He whispered.

"Exar, what happened? Strike him down!" Aang shouted.

"What was his weakness?" Calista asked.

"I'm not sure; I was never the expert on mental weaknesses, but I know that one tends to break down if reminded of a bad memory."

"That's not it." A Senator piped up. "It's an antique ritual, and a forbidden one at that. One can use the force on another's brain and make him forget any chosen memory, but it can be unlocked by either a harder ritual, or a codephrase."

"I remember learning about that; that's gotta be it. It makes complete sense! Although a codephrase does seem too coincidental." Bennar exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"With that ritual, you can tamper with the person and have him under your control, like hypnotism; that's why it was forbidden."

"Mainly, I helped severe his connection with any individual of the dark side he's worked with." Exar answered.

"Like these guys?" Aang asked -confusion written all over him- jerking a thumb at the supposed dark siders.

"No. They weren't exactly dark siders to begin with, but that doesn't mean I don't have a connection with them." Erk said.

"What's going on?" Viran asked suspiciously and sternly.

"Just a simple plot to destroy every threat known to this galaxy."

"My point is: the sith could have the power to put people under their control. We could be compromised and we might not even know it." Bennar said.

"What does _he_ have to do with any of this?" Jo asked, pointing to Erk.

"Oh. He's been a part of it the whole time." Exar said, then gave a nod to Erk.

"For all we know, the sith could be right under our noses." Bennar finished.

Erk reached up and pulled off his hood.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ephraim!" Aang and Jo recoiled, dropping their lightsabers. Viran didn't say anything, just gave Ephraim and Exar both a look of shock and anger.

"We've gone a long way, and if you let me discuss things, we can stay on our current track and secure the galaxy before you know it."

Aang just looked between Ephraim and Exar. He clenched two of his fists, then used the force to pick up two of his lightsabers, ignited them, and pointed them straight at Exar.

Exar looked at the blades, then at Aang. "I know you better than that." He said simply.

"You're with them." He said through gritted teeth. Aang felt so betrayed. They had been on a mission to defeat the sith for weeks, but the sith was also a friend of his. Under the hood, Ephraim was like a completely different person. A murderer. He had no idea he had known the galaxy's most powerful and wanted man... but Exar did. Exar not only knew the sith were alive the whole time, but he _knew_ the sith _personally_ , and was apparently close friends with him. Aang didn't even notice the tear fall from his cheek to the ground.

"Aang... What are you doing?" Exar asked, getting scared. _'He would've backed down by now.'_

"Don't do anything you'll regret." Viran advised.

Aang's hands only tightened on his hilts.

"H-h-hey, hey. Buddy. Calm down." Exar said, stepping back slightly, defensively lifting his arms ahead. Erk carefully moved his thumb towards the trigger on his lightsaber.

"Probably should've done this long ago." Aang said, lifting the sabers above his head.

"Hey! Woah!"

As Aang swung down a couple inches, Ailurah threw a couple daggars and knocked the lightsabers out of Aang's hands.

Aang just fell to his knees in despair.

"Aang... what was that?" Viran simply asked, nearly speechless.

"He doesn't need to be here." Aang said.

"Being the guy he is, I'm sure there's a _very_ , reasonable explanation for all this." Viran said, looking at Exar

"There can't be. I was a little _too_ acceptant when Exar came along. I should've known a Zabrak on the team would've been too much trouble. They always are." He said, glaring up at Exar, who looked away.

Erk and Kaiyah each put a hand on one of his shoulders and guided him elsewhere. "Now I realize we may have gone a little far, but we need to plan ahead so we can... you know."

"Yeah. Destroy all evil." Exar said, a little down, he looked over to Aang, still on his knees. "Maybe you should've let him kill me."

"Hey now. Even I sorta understand where his thoughts are coming from, but I know you're not evil. You had no bad intention with all this. Take time, and it'll boil over." Kaiyah said.

"I'll have a heck of a lot to explain, though."

"Maybe so." Erk said as they went along.

"Where are they going?" Jo asked as he saw the three go off.

Aang looked up, anger still written on his face, and was about to go after him; Viran put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't. It's my responsibility." He commed Exar and said, "Exar. Wherever you go, just make sure it's not far."

" _Okay. We'll just be outside the port_." Exar replied quietly.

" _This_ is gonna be a _fun_ adventure." Viran said quietly, with fake exhaustion.

"Alright. You guys got my chip?" Ephram asked.

...

"Exar?"

"Huh? Sorry."

"Did you get the chip?"

"The-the one you 'dropped' on Takodana?" Exar interrogated.

"Yeah that one."

"We got it; Jo picked it up. We used it earlier; if I recall, it might still be in the projector."

"Uh, hold on! Do any Republic officials know about your hideout?"

"Our team's bodyguard, and the Lieutenant Governor."

"WHAT?!" Ephraim and Kaiyah exclaimed not-so-loudly.

"I said she knows of our hideout, but she doesn't know of the stolen chip. Masters Rye, Erickson, and Viran are the only other ones who know."

"Well good. I believe I don't need to mention what would happen if any big-timers found out of our secrets."

"Please don't. He's mentioned it enough." Kaiyah said.

"What does this have to do with our next step?"

"Well that's the hard part. Erk's going to have to reveal himself to the Republic, then we'll all have to discuss the Republic's next step in taking out the Empire."

"Alright. How do you think _I'll_ come across?"

"I suppose we'll have to figure that out along the way; I didn't expect anything like that to happen." Erk said.

...

"There was something odd going on with Aang just then."

"The fact that he tried to kill you wouldn't happen to be it, would it?" Ephraim asked.

"No. At one point, he usually would have stood down, knowing he was outnumbered. As he lingered, and raised to strike, I felt something deeper going on. Something dark was taking over." Exar explained.

"Ephraim is this a joke?" Kaiyah asked.

"What? No. That wasn't part of the plan." Ephraim defended.

"And?"

"Hey, don't put this on me. For the record, I too sensed a strange darkness in that moment." Ephraim confessed.

Exar hummed in deep thought. "Do you remember our fight on Dathomir II? The ghost that interrupted us?"

"Yeah." Erk remembered. "That brings up more trouble. I'd like to know what that thing is and how it was able to interfere with us."

"Sorry, did I miss something?" Kaiyah asked.

"You didn't even fill your own girlfriend in?"

"Priorities." Ephraim whispered to Exar. "We should head on over to the library afterwards to learn more about this thing."

"Afterwards?" Exar and Kaiyah both asked.

"The chip you 'stole' has information on a top secret project the new Empire is working on."

...

"I have a feeling I'm not going to be surprised." Exar said.

"Just wait. For now, we need to settle things back on Coruscant." Ephraim said.

"Do you think it's a good idea to reveal that? I heard that you did take down a Republic squad on Kamino."

"Mhm... I didn't _necessarily_ 'take down' the squad. Anyway, no, I don't think it's a good idea, but it's the best one we have right now."

"What do we do about _them_ , though?" Exar asked about Jo, Aang, and Viran.

"Well, let's see if things have settled down."

The three were back in the port, and everyone seemed to be waiting for them.

"First off, I need to clarify that _I'm_ not with _them_ , but _they're_ with _us_."

"Believable but not too trustworthy." Jo said.

"You're darn right." Aang mumbled.

"Do you guys have a plan or something?" Viran asked.

"We're working on it. Wait, you're, okay with this?" Exar replied.

"Well, if you guys know what you're doing, then I believe you." Viran affirmed.

"If you're gonna reveal yourself Erk, you're gonna need a heck of a lot of protection." Ailurah said.

"Yeah he will." Jo said quietly with a mix of laughter.

"Where's he gonna get it?" Aang asked.

"From all of us." Exar answered.

"Better do some thinking, because if there's a revolt against him, then I just might side with the Republic." Aang said.

" _I'm_ with the Republic. Aang, don't tell me _you've_ forgotten all I've done with you guys." Ephraim said.

"Once you remind yourself, you should know you're taking the irrational side." Exar told him.

Aang stared for a second, then started retreating from the group. "I'll be back on my ship."

"We should all be heading back." Viran said.

"Didn't all your ships blow up?" Becky asked.

Aang immediately stopped, then turned and faced her. "Why is that?"

"Because we had to act our part." Becky replied.

"Aang, I thought you -of all of us- would realize something was going on. Erk said he wanted _only us three_ to face him here, or there would be concequences... Think about that. He didn't show us anything he could hold leverage against us." Exar pointed out.

"He was bluffing." Jo said in realization.

"And our battle on Dathomir II. He had his ship parked next to all of ours, but he didn't destroy them, because if he did, we wouldn't have any way off the planet; he had the Zabrak ships disabled so no one else would escape and contact the Republic." Exar said.

...

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I have to congratulate you guys for your impressive ahead-planning. That was a _really_ good plan." Jo said.

"I admire how well and far ahead you two plan, but how do _we_ get out now?" Viran asked.

"We have a ship." Ephraim replied.

"Well, lead the way."

Everyone was inside Erk's shuttle _**(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_ and ready to take off. "Is there a holotransmitter on this ship?"

"To take precautions, I had to disable the ship's holotransmitter; I have a personal one you can use." Ephraim said, tossing the disc-shaped object to Viran. Viran left to make his call.

"But I thought you weren't force-sensitive." Jo said. Aang smirked, looking over at Ephraim, waiting for an answer.

"One of the first things we were all taught is how to cloak our sensetivity and signatures."

"I suppose you were all taught to cloak the truth from your closest friends." Aang said.

"Aang, we've explained ourselves; you should _not_ be holding a grudge." Exar pushed.

Erk and Kaiyah took off the ship and were soaring through the sky and back to base.

"I hope what I flew two parsecs into the middle of nowhere for is worth it." Jayko said, annoyed.

"The ball glowed." The scientist told him.

! _'What changed?'_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What's the plan?" Ephraim asked.

Exar drew back with surprise; Erk _never_ asked _him_ that.

Erk saw the look on his face, rolled his eyes with a pursed mouth, and clarified, "What's the plan for my revelation?"

"Ah." Exar breathed. "Do we know if it's even necessary to do that?"

"We have to."

"Why exactly?"

"This has been part of the plan the whole time. Why have second thoughts now?"

"If anything was to happen, we couldn't afford to lose you."

"What's the worst that could happen? I took on the Governor."

"Who _is_ the Governor? And is he even force-sensitive?"

"He's a powerful Jedi-type person, yes."

"Did you face him, though? I've noticed some slight contradictions in your visits here and there; I want to know how you do it."

"You'll see."

"Mhm."

...

"How has your social life been? It's been a while since I've seen any of the guys." Exar said, jerking his head towards Ailurah, Kaiyah, and Becky.

"Oh things have been great. I've gotten closer with them in the past year than I have in all the time before that."

"Sounds good. I'll have to catch up with them sometime."

"You really should. They'll have a lot to tell you."

They both got up as they saw they were exiting hyperspace. Ephraim sat back down in his seat and looked onward as Republic ships approached.

 _"Identify yourself, unknown cruiser."_

"You talking to the _ship_?" Jo said back.

Viran lightly pushed Jo out of the way and spoke through the comm. "Jedi Master Viran Fexive here. Allies are aboard this ship, I assure you. Sending landing codes." Viran sent codes to the ship, and they checked out.

 _"Very well. A welcoming committee will be there for you when you get down. Copy?"_

"Affirmative."

The ships then started escorting them down to Coruscant.

"You might want to get a change of clothes there, Ephraim." Exar suggested. Ephraim nodded and went off to change. Exar them met the gazes of Becky, Ailurah, and Kaiyah, "You guys been around the Republic much?"

"We have, so there's no need to worry." Becky replied.

"I wasn't worried." Exar defended.

"Yes you were. As you asked that question, your eyes kept averting to one of us every split second, like a sign of nervousness. You were specifically worried that we wouldn't be normal by the Republic's standards -which was kinda lame- and they would end up suspecting something of us."

...

"O...kay, wow." Exar mumbled.

"You'll get used to that." Kaiyah said.

"Has she always been that perceptive?"

"As long as we've known her, yes." Ailurah answered.

Exar's mind drifted elsewhere, and he eventually asked, "So you guys have special elemental powers?"

"Yeah-well, Ailurah doesn't."

"Uh huh. Who had the fire?"

"That'd be me." Kaiyah replied.

"That would leave lightning with you?" Exar asked Becky, who nodded. "What exactly did you mean by 'yet?' " Exar then asked Kaiyah.

"She has the potential of possessing the power -we all sense it- but something hasn't connected with her."

"She hasn't been locked from her power has she?"

"No. Thankfully."

"Speaking of you guys." Aang finally spoke. They swivelled around and faced him. "About the so-called 'purge.' From apparently false information I received, I thought Exar and Erk were the only survivors."

"We had our special powers beforehand, and it enabled us to escape the massacre. But Exar was gone before it all happened." Kaiyah explained.

"Are you all certain there were no _other_ survivors?" Aang asked.

"As far as we know. Other than those which I heard remain on Dathomir II, everyone else was trapped inside the catacombs and killed."

"By who?" Jo asked.

"We don't know. They were too quick for us to get a good look." Kaiyah finished as she landed the ship in the port.

"Aw man that's a big welcoming committee." Ephraim spoke up from behind them, all dressed in his Republic uniform.

"Now let's act casual as we exit." Viran suggested as he pulled a lever and lowered the ramp. Everyone followed behind as they descended down and were met by Bennar and Calista.

"Welcome back. Master Fexive, team, Aang. E-Ephraim." He could've sworn he saw Ephraim earlier. "And some new friends. Master Viran, may I borrow you for a moment?"

"I don't go for that sort of thing." Viran remarked. Bennar's expression didn't change. "Oh, you mean- oh, yes sir." Viran followed Bennar out; on the way out, Bennar whispered something to Calista.

"I will show you to the temple now; Bennar will join us shortly after." Calista told the team.

Bennar and Viran strolled through the hallway of the Jedi temple. The giant oval windows helping the shine of the setting sun soak through the glass.

"Aang has much potential; I know you see it." Bennar said.

"I did question him about it, your honor. He did seem somewhat phased at the thought of possibly becoming a master."

"It is indeed a big step to take, though from what I've heard, he may have already taken the leap. What he needs is for it to be made official."

"I don't disagree. But something may be bothering him."

"How do you mean?"

"You know he's getting very old, and he's maintained the health and appearance of a padawan; he does have the skill of a master."

"Go on."

"I think he really wanted to become a master, but he was never able to be apppointed. He grew up in the golden days of the first Empire. But once, I probed his mind, and something was definitely wrong."

"Like what?"

"I saw fragments of memories of past experiences; only, some were incomplete. Like they were forgotten or locked from his mind. I know as a fact this wasn't involved with an aging brain; I looked more into it. The memories were... unreachable. I fear his mind may slowly be changing. Or worse, corroding."

Bennar considered his words. With a stroke of his chin, he replied, "Seems a bit unlikely in my eyes, Master Viran. Even in my many experiences, I have never heard of anything like that. What might cause such a disturbance?"

"I don't know exactly, but I think the dark side could be involved."

"You think he could be conspiring with the sith?"

"Not what I'm saying. I'm thinking something among the lines of dealing with power out of his control."

"How could he get ahold of such power?"

"That's the tough part; I don't know."

"If you're right, the power you suggest he holds may end him. Ther has to be something we can do."

"We'll go through with the promotion; we'll wait to see what happens afterwards."

Bennar nodded slowly, then concluded, "We will have to be careful."

Aang trod through the hallways of the Jedi temple. He was told that he was summoned to the Jedi council chamber, but wasn't told what for or why. He reached the elevator and stepped in. The door closed, and he felt the elevator start moving up.

He stood still.

 _"Finish him!"_ He heard.

"Who's that?"

 _"I am..."_ Aang looked around, then suddenly looked confused and suspicious. _"...THE END!"_ Aang saw something come through the elevator and it seemed to go through him. He yelled, then fell back.

He only took a second to calm down. _'Finish who?'_ He then looked down and saw one of his hands gripping a lightsaber so tightly, that his fists paled. He took a deep breath and connected it back on his belt. Then the elevator stopped and the door opened. The room was dark.

A single green lightsaber lit up, Bennar behind the blade. Aang stepped forward into the middle of the room. Then the room lit up with blades of several colors.

"W-what is this?" Aang asked.

"Jedi Aang. Your actions, whether big or small, have not gone unnoticed by the Jedi council. You are _strong_ with the force, and we see much potential in you, and we want to bring out the best in you-"

Aang couldn't believe his ears; he was about to be promoted to Master, it sounded like. He had always dreamed of this moment ever since the formation of the New Republic. He was so excited. He couldn't wait to tell Jo, Rye, Erickson, and... ' _Exar'_. His mind trailed back to that game-changing moment where he was about to kill his friend. He descended into a sea of guilt and pain; the feeling of betrayal returned to him. And he was about to kill his longtime partner. 'Why?', he couldn't answer. He didn't want to take a chance of it happening to anyone else.

"I can't."

Bennar's tongue was tied in a knot at the moment. Suddenly clearing his head, he asked, "What?"

"I can't accept this." He looked up. "I have done things I very much regret, and because of it, my trust has been shaken in my team. I'm not good enough for this."

"I- I don't understand."

"I'm sorry. I appreciate the offer, but I can't do this. Not right now."

Then next moment, Aang was gone. The lightsabers lowered and deactivated, and the window covers pulled back, letting the light back in the room.

"That was strange." Rek Kenten said. "And this whole time, I didn't know you were on the council."

"Many things you don't know about me, master Jedi." Bennar said. "But yes, who would anyone be to turn down the rank of master?" The council thought about it. "Get me contact with Master Viran."

"What? Why would he do _that_?" Viran asked.

"He said he was untrustworthy and 'not good enough.' " Bennar replied. "Is your team around at the moment?"

"They'll be around soon; I'll hold a message."

"No need, I just needed to talk to him about his situation; since he'll be around soon, can I count on you to talk to him?"

"Yes sir." Viran said.

"Good." Then the transmission ended.

"Oh force, I can't believe I just did that." Viran said, going through a door to the meeting room of the base on Kashyyyk, where the Jedi team and Ephraim's team were both present. "Aang, you owe me one."

"Yes master." Aang deadpanned.

 _'Oh. That was probably a bad time.'_ Viran thought. "What's going on here?"

"We're going to help bring down the enemy." Ephraim said.

"What are we _doing_ _now_?" Viran emphasized.

"I'm going to reveal something that will help us bring down the enemy."

"Like what?"

"Well, let's look into it shall we?" Ephraim said, sliding his chip into the holographic table projector. The list of information popped up onto the screen.

"We've been through this list before." Jo said.

"Not all of it." Ephraim corrected, going into a file, which opened up and revealed five lines on the screen.

"Except that. We need a passcode."

"And, I, have it." Ephraim replied, punching in the code. Then the file opened. And everyone's eyes widened at the list of information they saw.

 _ **(See chapter on Archive fo Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_

"There's more." Viran said, shocked with a low tone.

"We barely scratched the surface with those attacks." Exar said with a whisper.

"This isn't all." Ephraim said. "They've developed a secret weapon." He opened another file, and revealed blueprints for the secret weapon. "They've built another Death Star."

...

...

"What?" Jo asked, contorting the right half of his face in curiosity.

"I knew it. I'm not surprised." Exar said.

"That's what I thought too." Ephraim said.

"That's simply ridiculous. It's like planet-killers are the only maniacal weapon any antagonists can come up with anymore." Aang stated.

"Third time's the charm." Jo mumbled.

"Only, this one is different." Ephraim said.

"What? Is it just bigger?" Aang asked.

"No. Not just bigger. They built off of the mistakes of the other Death Stars."

"How so?"

"Well," Ephraim started, sliding his finger sideways along the hologram screen, revealing the weapon in space.

"Wow... it's, shiny." Jo said with a monotone.

"Like a star. It can easily be disguised."

"Wow. _What an improvement_." Aang said, clapping sarcastically.

"I wasn't finished." Ephraim said. "I was about to get to the good stuff."

"Go ahead."

Ephraim cleared his throat quietly. "The outer shell of the weapon has been modified from the original design to not only blend in with the other stars, but it has no visible openings."

"For?"

"For anyone to enter, for anyone to blow the thing up. You name it."

"How do people get in?" Jo asked.

"I don't know; I haven't been there."

"Okay so what should we do?" Exar asked.

"We need to rally everyone with every resource we know to take this weapon down."

" _Again_. And if it has any improvement, how could we take it down? If it has no entry point of any kind, it's basically invincible." Aang said unenthusiastically.

Ephraim was about to answer, but then, his holotransmitter beeped. Ephraim freaked out, tried picking it up quickly, but it kept bouncing in his hands. He caught it, then pulled his cloak's hood up -from under his uniform- over his face, and closed his eyes. Then, his eyes started smoking yellow. He opened them, and his eyes were flaming yellow again. He activated the holotransmitter, and Jayko appeared. All the Jedis' breath hitched in their throats.

"Erk, we're both being summoned to the weapon. I'm going to pick you up at the coordinates I sent to your shuttle's computer. Don't be late." Then it ended.

"Well... I guess I'm going to find out how to get in. I'll hopefully see you later." Erk said, leaving the base.

Viran approached Exar and said, "You know he's going to have to reveal himself if anyone's going to trust him. People are going to want to know how we obtained this knowledge, and they're going to suspect."

"I know." Exar said, as he looked out the window. "We're doing what we can."

"I know some people who can help us." Aang said, grinning for the first time _in foreeeeeverrrrr_.

Aang, alone in his quarters, pushed in the contact code into his holo-transmitter. He breathed in, then out, then a hooded person _**(of course)**_ appeared in view.

"Who is thi- Aang?"

"This is urgent. I need to make this quick."

The man nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Remind me what we're doing?" Calista requested Bennar. They were alone in a hangar bay, and Bennar was peering out into the night sky.

"We're expecting an arrival." Bennar replied. Calista's eyes widened. She stepped back and placed a hand on her stomach. "No! No. Not that. Not what I meant." Bennar said, starting to panic, then calming down. "I've been in contact with some friends, and they're doing all they can to help us defeat this Empire."

"They're coming here for what exactly?"

"This is the rallying point. We're going to take down the enemiy's secret weapon."

"That's a bit of a leap, Ben. How could you even know where it is?"

Bennar turned and grinned. Understanding where he was heading, she smiled back. They stood there, waiting for the arrival.

"What happened?" Calista asked after a moment,

"What hapened to what?"

"On Kamino. You never gave me details."

"Oh. Cal, I'm sorry. I've been under a lot of stress because of the mission, and have kept it well-hidden. Believe me, if you knew of what happened, you'd be as scarred as I am." He said, slowly gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Suddenly receiving a flashback, he clutched his head and shouted, then repulsed everything around him. Calista yanked out a small, strong, and handy knife and caught onto the ground to prevent an injury.

Once Bennar recovered, she fell back on the ground. She looked around and saw the walls, floors, and ceiling cracked. She gazed back at Bennar and saw him recovering. Retracting her knife, she went back beside him and helped him up. "Is there anything I can do?" Calista asked softly.

"As far as I can think, no. I wish there was."

Then, Calista looked up and saw ships entering the atmosphere. "They're here." She told him. Bennar looked up and saw them too.

"Alright." He mumbled. They backed up to give the ships room to land. They arrived and landed, then Bennar's friends exited their ships and approached them. They also took a good look around. When they reached Bennar, one of them asked, "What hapened here? It looks like this place was built forever ago and hasn't been touched since."

"It's hard to explain. It's good to see you Vustine." Bennar replied as they turned to start pacing around the bay.

Jedi explorer Vustine Farthen was a young, middle-aged man, near his thirties. He had a full bright brown moustache and beard, and short hair of the same color.

"You too, Bennar, How've things been?"

"Not too brightly, to be honest. This Empire has barely fought, and yet I feel like the Republic is slowly falling apart."

"How so?"

"I've felt a massive presence of the dark side within our ranks, and have failed to expose it. I know that if this goes on any longer, we could lose many."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No. I'm not talking about a mole. The dark side has slowly crept into the Jedi Order; one Jedi, I feel, has already been affected by it."

"Well, maybe this attack will help ease us, and we can have an easier time finding out more."

"I don't know. This could be the riskiest move we've ever made. We lost many resources in a battle a short while ago; this is pretty much all we have."

"Well let's get to work shall we?"

"Um, talk to Calista. I'm not feeling it."

Vustine frowned. "You think there's a chance you're getting affected?" He asked.

"I don't know. Only time will tell."

Vustine nodded, then strolled back to Calista, who was talking with his wife.

"What's the current situation?" Bree Farthen asked.

"We're taking down the Imperial Superweapon. I don't know how well it'll work out, but I have hope."

"So do I. As I've been told: the force will protect us."

"Are you a Jedi?"

"I am force-sensitive, yes. But I've been focusing on other things. There are plenty of Jedi out there; they don't need every potential person to join them."

"What is it you do?"

"Other than being a mother, I work in the army alongside Sergeant Sisbar."

"Oh! I haven't been around much. Being Lieutenant Governor takes its toll and limits visitation."

"Keep up your work, Calista. You're helping the Republic still stand."

"I had no plans on stopping."

Then Vustine popped up. "Lieutenant Governor!" Once he got to them. "What's our plan?"

 _'I thought Bennar was going to tell them.'_ She thought as she saw Bennar exit the bay at the last second. "Just have all your friends follow me to the briefing room and we'll go over the plan." She finally answered.

"Guys, we should leave soon if we're going to make it back in time." Viran shouted from the meeting room. Jo was with him, and they were waiting for Aang and Exar to get ready.

...

"Think something's going down?" Jo asked.

"What?"

"Think they're 'going at it?' "

"They wouldn't be _that_ quiet?"

...

"From what I heard, Exar was trained to be silent but deadly."

"They're _not_ doing _anything_ to each other."

...

"Think they're-"

"Please stop."

Then Exar and Aang emerged from their separate quarters, silently.

"They'll be waiting. Let's go." Aang proclaimed as they headed outside.

"Who exactly is this friend of yours?" Exar asked.

Aang sighed, then replied, "For safety reasons, he prefers if he wasn't talked about in the open."

"What about in the _closed_?" Jo asked.

" _Let me rephrase_." Aang emphasized strictly. "He prefers if he wasn't talked about at all."

"Gotcha."

They were outside and were getting into their fighters.

"What were you invited to the temple for, Aang?" Viran asked.

Aang sort of froze, then replied, "I don't want to talk about it." Then hopped in and closed his canopy.

Viran and Exar looked at each other with worry written all over their faces. They hopped into their fighters and took off. They reached space, connected fighters and lept into hyperspace.

Erk flew his shuttle towards the superweapon, and it got bigger as he got closer. He looked forward, then as he got close enough, he saw an opening present itself. It looked like liquid metal coming apart. As he landed inside, he looked around at the several TIEs and troopers parked inside along with him.

"I still don't understand." Jayko said, walking along with Erk to the weapon control room. He handed Erk a report he finished. "You stop in the middle of a fight 'like your power drained', and you don't know how?"

"It just, _happened_."

"What specifically happened?"

"I'm not saying it again, Jayko. I don't know what happened, can we just leave it at tha-"

Erk dropped the datapad as he and Jayko recoiled and fell on their backs as they reached the control room. They quickly and nervously swerved up and kneeled down.

For their master was here.

"It's interesting that even with your combined intellect and power, you still manage to fail to kill the Jedi, don't you agree?" The Master asked as he turned around and faced them.

 _ **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_

"W-well-um." Jayko was fumbling over his words.

"You both were too busy _quarreling_ that you couldn't accomplish anything together. Years of training in the dark side, yet you couldn't _complete what your ancestors_ _ **failed to**_." He said, his temper spiking. Then he calmed. "Then again," He said more calmly, "This is what I get for hiring teenagers. You are too inexperienced that you couldn't see the opportunities that were in front of your eyes."

"My master, if we just-"

"I wasn't finished." The Master said, turning his head to Jayko, who was suddenly struck with fear. He knew the master hated being interrupted.

The Master turned to Erk, " _You_ ,had an open opportunity to take them down, but your fear kept you hidden in the shadows, and the Jedi escaped with the Republic." He looked at Jayko. "If you thought you and two heavily-armored troopers could take down a team of three Jedi, then you are surely one of my greatest mistakes." Jayko couldn't tell if he was angry at the master, or if he was disappointed with himself at the moment. Then the Master kneeled down in front of Erk, "A disappointing third attempt when you hired a ragtag group of undertrained to attempt to dispose of the Jedi, and a master of the Jedi Council." He stood back

Erk waited a moment, then realized it was his turn to speak. "My team has trained long hours each day since the purge. I had faith we could win."

" _Did_ you?" The master asked, standing up.

Erk dropped his head.

"Did you _really_ ,think, that they were enough?"

"I _did_. I-"

"They trained for long hours every day, every year since the said purge, but still are no match for still-learning Jedi." He kneeled in front of Erk again and made Erk face him.

"I want you to admit it." The Master stated.

Erk's mouth hung open, speechless -and not in a good way- at the master's request.

"Your friends are softening you, Erk. To fully embrace the dark side, you learn to reject friendship, and anything of the sort." He grabbed Erk's face and growled, " _ **Power**_. Power is what fuels you." He stood up and turned around, looking into space. "In order to be fueled for the dark side, you need the dark side -your anger, your hatred- to fuel your power, and _that_ power fuels the darkness within you. And that darkness helps fuel your power, and that fuels you." He repeated. "The cycle goes on. And it never ends. Un...limited... power."

He went back to Erk. "But your power isn't being used all the way. Something is holding you back, and I intend to remove it. So, I want you to admit it."

"And reject _them_?" Erk whispered very quietly.

" _Those weaklings weren't enough. Accept it_." The Master ordered. His emphasis on the words made Erk clench his fists at the thought.

"Let me prove it." The Master tapped Erk's forehead, and in a flash, he saw himself and his team facing Jedi, and millions of alternate fates of them all dying. And he felt it. Erk scremed in both mental and physical pain. Screaming, his arms jerked outwards and sent out a dangerous force-repulse, and everyone -but him and the master- fell dead.

The master smirked, sensing the dark radiance emerging. He then snapped his fingers, and everyone healed and came back to life. The master then grabbed Erk's head and made him look at him in his eye. "Your anger, _gives_ you power. _**Use it**_." Then he dropped him. "And grow stronger. Now, you will remain here until further notice; I forsee an attack, and we will be ready."

"Yes, master." Erk and Jayko said simultaneously, then they got up and left.

"If we're satying here, what do you think he's going to do about the Jedi?" Jayko asked quietly.

"I don't exactly know, but we _are_ in a planet-killer."

As the team exited hyperspace in Lothal's sector, Viran received a holocall. "Hey guys, we have an incoming transmission." He commed the team.

"Put it through." Aang said.

"Put it through, _sir_." Exar corrected.

Viran did so, and Anson appeared on all their projectors. "Mr. Tomas." Viran said.

"There you are. I've been trying to reach you all for a while." Anson said.

"What's going on?" Viran asked.

"My team and I were repairing our ship, and we didn't find the crate you guys brought. Did you guys happen to take it when we boarded the Republic ship?"

Viran remained straight-faced for a moment, then rached over and commed the team. "Team." He started.

"Yes?" Jo asked nervously.

"Please tell me you guys nabbed the-" Viran muted the hologram on his side "Holocron in the battle a couple weeks ago."

...

"Team?"

" _We didn't_." Exar said slowly.

" _Well what are the odds the enemy has it? The battle took place in deep space_." Aang reminded.

"Nevertheless, if there are odds, there's a chance they have it. We have to retrieve Aang's friend before we act." Viran said before unmuting. "Thank you for the information, Mr. Tomas."

"Always here to help."

The call ended, and they descended down to Lothal.

"Back again." Jo mumbled.

Aang didn't lead them to the city; instead, to the open fields. There, they flew gracefully. Loth-cats spotted them as they passed by, giving Aang some nostalgic memories.

They headed towards a valley of boulders and landed just outside of it. The team exited their fighters, and Aang took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "It is so good to be in these pleasant green pastures again. The force is strong here, and it flows everlasting. Just close your eyes and focus."

Everyone closed their eyes and felt the force, and suddenly felt very much eased. "Indeed." Viran agreed, opening his eyes.

"So where's this friend of yours?" Jo asked.

Aang looked back at the rocks and saw a white Loth-cat and smiled. "When in doubt... follow the white Loth-cat." He said before he started chasing it.

"Woah, wait up!" Everyone shouted after him.

They took a few turns, not going very deep into the maze, but Aang and the team stopped when they saw the Loth-cat jump and climb into the arms of his owner. Aang smiled as he saw his friend again.

 _ **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Ezra Bridger."

"Aang. Old friend. What is the emergency you spoke of?"

"The 'Empire' "Aang used air quotes to exaggerate, "Has sort of returned, and we need help to take down another Death Star."

"Hm. Those guys can't be original anymore?"

"They can't get enough of us either." Jo said.

 _'Here's to hoping this isn't another 'I'm getting too old and can't or won't participate in any Galactic shenanigans anymore' situation.'_ Aang thought.

"Come inside; we'll talk there. I'm gonna need to know exactly what I'm getting into before I do anything." Ezra said, gesturing them inside his fancy house in the rocks.

 _ **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_

 _'Well this is going well so far.'_

They followed him inside and beheld.

"This is like the First Class apartment I lived in back in the old days." Jo said.

"Well did you have anything like this?" Ezra asked, pointing to a shrine on the other side of the room. They looked over and saw the stone shrine. On it, a green mask, a Kalikori, and a lightsaber laid.

Aang's heart pounded in himself as his eyes widened as much as they could. He fell to his knees, gasped, and covered his mouth. He looked over to Ezra, whose face dropped, and asked, "What did I miss?"

"A lot." Ezra answered quietly.

"Th-they... both-"

"Just one. Kanan." Ezra mumbled. "Hera added to the Kalikori in remembrance of Kanan."

"But she's still alright?"

Ezra's face brightened a little bit. "She's a mother."

Aang brightened up too, tearing up a little bit as well. "That's good. How's Zeb?"

"I actually don't know. He's been on Lira San for so long, and I don't exactly know the typical lifespan of a Lasat."

"And... what about-"

Ezra put a hand up, silencing him. Then he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

"Coming, Ezra!" A feminine voice replied, stilling Aang.

From a staircase, came another of Aang's friends.

"Sabine Wren." Aang said, trying not to laugh.

Sabine covered her mouth and gasped. "Aang!" She shouted and ran and embraced him.

"Good to know some of you are still around." Aang said, pulling away.

"What's going on?" Sabine asked happily.

"Well, not exactly something to smile about." Aang replied.

"Business, huh?" Sabine guessed.

"Kinda. We could be going into another war, but I have a plan to stop it before anything serious starts."

"Oh! If that's where we are, then count me in." Ezra said.

"Soletar me o'r." Sabine said. ( _Count me in_.)

"She's in. So what exactly are we doing?"

"We're going to infiltrate and take down their new, not-too-modified Death Star." Aang said. Sabine rolled her eyes.

Ezra leaned over to Aang and whispered, "If I had a credit every time she rolled her eyes-" Sabine heard and punched him lightly on the shoulder, provoking him to laugh.

"We're going to have more specifics on the plan whenever we meet up with the others." Viran said.

"Mhm. I don't believe we've met." Ezra said, standing up and outstretching his hand.

"Jedi Master Viran Fexive." They shook hands. Ezra took turns and shook hands with the team. "Exar." "Aang." "Jo."

"And this is Sabine Wren." Ezra introduced. Sabine shook their hands, but when Exar shook her hand, but he didn't pull away. Everyone saw a distressed look on his face as he stared into space.

"Exar?" Aang asked.

Exar snapped back to reality and let go. "Sorry."

Viran took him back, away from the crowd and asked him, "Exar, what happened?"

"I- sensed a change in her future." Exar answered, looking back at the two "new" people.

"What about Ezra?"

"Nah, I didn't sense anything up with him."

"Why do you think?"

"I don't know. Either there's only one path ahead for him... or his future was changed long ago."

Viran stroked his goatee and contemplated his thoughts.

"There's a lot I need to tell you and masters Rye and Erickson." Exar

"Okay, when we get back to base, we'll discuss it." They retreated back to the group.

"When do we take off?" Jo asked Viran.

"Well, let them decide." Viran gestured to Ezra and Sabine.

"Alright. We'll have to prepare." Sabine said.

"Take your time." Viran said.

"In that case, make yourself at home." Ezra said.

Jayko and Erk entered the laboratory on the Death Star. There were several people working on weapons and cannons that would reinforce the Death Star. They looked around and found a table where experiments were made. They headed over to the table, and Jayko held up a ball of cloth and unraveled it, revealaing the crystal ball underneath.

Jayko placed it on the table, on top of the cloth to keep it balanced. "Keep this ball monitored at all times. It is vital to our success, and can warn us of nearby danger. If it glows, inform me _immediately_." He told the scientists.

"Yes sir." The scientist replied.

The sith made their way out of the lab; once they were out of earshot, Erk asked, "What if the Republic finds out of our superweapon?"

"They won't. This place is diguised to look like a star; we are perfectly camouflaged."

"But we weren't always."

Jayko saw his point. "They didn't know before, how could they know now?"

"Something like this would be a huge deal to them. If they knew, they'd keep it under wraps until they make their move. Just think about it."

"I don't disagree. But there's nothing we can do. There's still a big chance they have no idea what we're doing. We will take them by surprise when we strike Coruscant."

 _'What?! I wasn't informed of that plan!'_

"Something bothering you, Erk?" Jayko asked, sensing his distress.

"No. Just, felt a shift in the force." Erk lied.

"What kind of shift?" Jayko then asked, stepping in front of him.

"Not a good one, but not a bad one either."

"Uh huh. What does _that_ mean?"

"It... means, something either really good, or really bad could happen soon."

Little did Erk now, what he said was actually correct.

"Heard anything from the team ye-what are you doing?" Rye asked as he found Erickson laying down on a landing pad.

"Tanning."

Rye just shook his head and asked again, "Heard anything from the team yet?"

"No. Nothing yet." Rye just nodded and stood there. A thought popped in Erickson's head, and he felt obliged to inform his brother. "Hey, I contacted Nicolette a couple days ago; she knows a few people who can help us in our mysterious attack. Hey, do you actually know anything about that?"

"I don't. That's why I wanted to contact them. Viran told me that the team found something out about the enemy, which caused the need for the mission."

"They've been with Viran for a bit; he must've really gotten into his job."

"He's doing a good job too."

...

"You think he could be doing better than us?" Erickson asked.

"Brother? What do you mean?"

"You're experienced in the field, and I'm not as experienced. When I got to know the team, I was excited to get to learn more with you and them. I feel like if Viran gets too good, he could usurp us and take our place."

"There's no such intention brother; his job is temporary. Just so long as we know our team won't do anything stupid without supervision."

"Oh I didn't mean to pass any wrong thoughts; I was just worried if Viran took over, I wouldn't get to learn as much."

...

"Those Jedi of the order -kinda like me- are the experienced ones, and they get to go out in the field much more often than I do. The only thing keeping you from becoming one of them is your helping lead the team." Rye said.

"What about you?"

"I'm merely affiliated with them because of my experience. My place is with the team, but if the need be, we could both be reassigned, and Viran could lead them. Nothing much would really be changed. We'd both still be learning."

"Yeah I guess I didn't really give it much thought."

"We do that sometimes."

Then they heard the crack of two ships exiting hyperspace. They looked up and saw the all-too-familiar advanced C-Wings flying down to the base. Erickson stood and grinned from ear to ear. "Here they are."

"Hold on. They?"

"Yeah I contacted both of them."

Rye's expression lit up and he smiled along with his brother. The ships landed and out came their wives. And there beeped Rye's holotransmitter. He picked it up, activated it, and said, "Please hold." To Viran's face, then put it back on his belt. Rye and Erickson ran up and suddenly embraced their wives, much to their joy.

Viran was still holding the transmitter, and he and the team were listening to the giggles, laughs, and -as Jo would call them- 'mushy' comments. "Uh, Rye?" The comments stopped, then they saw Rye's face come into view. "You didn't turn the holotransmitter off."

"I can see that. Guys-" Rye widened the range of the transmitter so they could see everyone. "I'd like you to meet our wives, Nikki, and Nicolette." They all waved.

 _'They're twins too?'_ Jo thought. _'Hold on!'_ , "Wait how does that work?" Jo said, pulling the hologram down to his level, showing them the top half of his head. "Both groups are twins, meaning that they come from the same family. If one of the boys married one of the girls at one point, then the other one married the other at another point, would that mean that the latter married his sister-in-law?"

"You'll have to excuse Jo." Rye said, turning the hologram around. "He gets easily confused." He let them back into view. "They got married at the same time."

"So where are you guys now?" Erickson asked.

"We're on Lothal, picking up some friends that agreed to help us in our attack." Viran said, pulling back to his level.

"I heard you guys know the reason behind the attack." Rye said.

"We'll brief you and the army when we get back. We're just waiting for the guys to prep for departure."

"Alright, we'll be waiting." Rye made sure to turn it off this time. He draped an arm around his wife, Nicolette, and asked, "How are the kids?" Erickson pretty much copying him.

"They're doing alright. While I managed to nab a babysitter, Nikki was with the Chancellor, overseeing the production of the clone army from Brett."

"How's that going, by the way?" Erickson asked Nikki.

"Well it's the usual. With the Chancellor supervising, ther shouldn't be any more setbacks."

"Believe me, that's been taking care of." A voice called out. Ephraim was on the platform with them.

"Ephraim! My friend! We'd like you to meet Nicolette and Nikki. Our wives." Ephraim went up and shook their hands. "Okay, so, Ephraim, what exactly did you mean earlier? Something being taken care of." Rye asked.

"The sith that first delayed us on Kamino has been dealt with."

"Really? Do you know what happened? We haven't heard anything about him since our team encountered him on Takodana."

"Wow! Sounds like your past month has been quite eventful." Nicolette said.

"You wouldn't believe it." Erickson muttered.

"Well, what do you guys say we head on inside and catch up?" Rye suggested, and they all agreed. Erickson picked up his tanning chair and followed behind.

Erk/Ephraim broke out of his trance and was suddenly worried. _'I missed the chance.'_ He laid down on the bed in his new room. _'If I could just reveal it to them one-by-one... But will I get the chance?'_ He turned to his side. _'What am I going to do?'_

"Interesting fellows, those guys are huh?" Ezra asked Sabine as they were packing.

"Aang's friends? Yeah, I guess so." She waited a moment, then said, "Ezra. Are you sure you want to do this? Getting back into another war?"

"The war hasn't officially started yet. They said that also by blowing up this Death Star, they'd be ending the war before it starts. Sabine, we'll be alright. We are the galaxy's best Jedi and Mandalorian."

"Ezra, there's an entire order of Jedi masters. I wouldn't say you're the _best_." Sabine replied with exaggeration.

"Aw you _still_ have to kill my spirits like that?" Ezra retorted with equal sarcasm, making them both laugh. "Come on 'Bine. We should get going." Ezra said, picking up his bag and heading downstairs.

Sabine looked on. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Sabine had joined everyone downstairs, and they were all gathered around.

"You both got what you need?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, we're good." Sabine said.

"Very well, we should get going. We don't want to be late on attending the spectacle."

"Neither does Sabine. She _loves_ blowing stuff up." Ezra emphasized the word, earning another punch in the shoulder.

Aang chuckled. "You guys are still the same, yet so different."

"You haven't changed a _bit_." Sabine said.

Aang's smile faded, and his eyes cast downward.

"Let's not be late." Viran said, clapping his hands next to his team. "Let's go."

Everyone got up and headed outside, Aang following close behind. He stopped and looked at the shrine dedicated to Kanan. "This one's for you, Kanan." He said, but as he turned back, Ezra was there. He held his hand out, and Aang grabbed it.

"For Kanan." They both said.

"Let's do this." Aang said.

They started heading outside, but Aang stopped again. "Ezra."

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ezra's expression saddened.

"Was there a funeral?"

Ezra just nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just didn't know how to break it to you without anything coming across the wrong way."

"Huh?"

"Aang, sometimes, we keep things from others for the greater good. It may come across the wrong way, and if the story was divulged, it could turn into something worse. It _is_ hard to have secrets, or, other things, kept from you; but it needs to be learned that you _can_ know too much. If too much is known... well, as I said, bad things could happen. Respecting secrecy is one thing Sabine had to learn in the early years. My point is: there's a right time, and a right place for things to be revealed. I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you, but then you found out. I sense you've had a hard time dealing with a newly-discovered secret. So let me tell you: whoever kept it from you, then told you, meant no harm by it. Whatever it was, was for the greater good. That person was simply doing -what seemed like- the wrong things for the right reason. I know a thing or two about that. It may seem very bad, but there are always good results."

Aang thought about it...

Deeply.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Erk woke up after a surprisingly long nap. He sat up, then recalled everything moments earlier. "How are things going to work?" He said quietly to himself. _'Things seem to be changing; our plan may not work out the way we anticipated.'_ He thought about what the master said. _'He foresaw the attack? But... that would mean that he... then...'_

 _..._

 _'Oh poodoo. It's a setup!'_

Ephraim sat with Rye, Erickson, Nikki, and Nicolette as they caught up. He sensed a disturbance in the force, said, "I'll be right back." and immediately retreated to his quarters. He sat down in the center of his room and closed his eyes.

Exar felt the same thing as he was following everyone back to base. He set his ship to auto pilot and closed his eyes. He and Ephraim felt a connection, then they opened their eyes. Exar found himself in Ephraim's room, and there he saw him. "This could be a really bad time. Did you get back already, or are you still on the Death Star? If you're still there, you could compromise your positi-"

"A bit of both."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"It's hard to explain, and I have no time." Ephraim informed. "My master has the Republic backed into a corner."

"Your mast- would that be the silver stormtrooper?"

" _Worse_. He knows the attack is coming."

Exar took a moment and let that message sink in. "Tell me about him."

"You thought _I'm_ the one whoknows the most about the force around here? Well, Exar, I have news." Ephraim seemed to be starting to panic. " _I've_ only scratched the surface. My master, is unbelievably powerful."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Pray that seeing it won't be the last thing you do. I witnessed my master bring a room of workers _back_ to life."

 _'Who killed them?'_ Exar thought. He didn't dwell on the thought very long; he was too shocked at the news he just received. "He's there? At the weapon?"

"He is. Exar, I don't think we should go on with the attack."

"Well I haven't had any bad feelings about any preceedings thus far. And who knows, Aang might have a little more up his sleeve."

"Whatever you do, you won't beat him. He'll get into your head and destroy you from the inside. Slowly." The way Ephraim said it seemed scared, and that concerned Exar.

"Did he do something to you?"

Ephraim hesitated before answering.

Rye was laughing at a funny experience his wife told him about, then it immediately died down. He sensed something dark going on. He turned his head towards the hallway leading to Ephraim's bedroom and slightly frowned. "Brother." Rye called. Erickson stopped laughing and acknowledged Rye. "Do you sense that?"

"Rye." Nicolette called. "Would, Ephraim, happen to be force-sensititve?"

"He always said he wasn't. And, I, never sensed any trace of it in him."

"Well we're all picking up a strong sense of the dark side around." Nikki said.

"I'll talk to him." Rye said, getting up and exiting the scene.

"How much do you know about Ephraim?" Nicolette asked Erickson.

"I too never knew of any force-sensitivity within him. He may have just opened up to it now, or maybe he's having a strong vision."

"I don't think so. We are planning an attack, and timing for something like this to happen- I think it may be more 'convenient' than we notice." Nicolette theorized.

"What makes you say that?"

Nikki answered this question. "I've sensed a massive disturbance in the force, like the dark side had a sudden rise in power."

"An imbalance. We think the sith have infiltrated us and are slowly working their way up to the top." Nicolette summarized.

"Observant, but possibly a bit of a step forward, but maybe not; are you saying we're outmatched?" Erickson wondered.

"Maybe. If we are victorious, then we will have a bigger chance at defeating the enemy."

Rye heard the conversation from the hallway. He leaned against the wall, contemplating the theory and possible outcomes. He looked up at Ephraim's door, walked over and knocked.

Ephraim heard the knock and broke the connection. He kept himself together as he let the door open. Rye stepped in, and he didn't have a very happy look on his face. "Rye?"

"Ephraim, everyone in the other room just sensed a dark radiance coming from you. We'd all like an explanation." He stated, pointint a finger at him.

"Are they right outside my door?"

" _I'd_ like an explanation."

 _'Well. It's now or never.'_ He thought. "Believe it or not, I have actually been waiting to reveal this to you." He said, reaching under his cloak and pulling out a lightsaber hilt. "If you think I'm force-sensitive, then you'd be correct. I grew up with Exar in the training program he came from."

Rye's expression spoke for him. Ephraim was starting to have second thoughts, but there was no turning back at this point. He ignited the lightsaber, and the black beam flowed out, and the humming sound filled the room. Rye's expression only darkened.

"Let me explain further before a misunderstanding erupts something bad."

"Get to it, because something bad is going to erupt soon."

"Well don't do it in here, I just had this stuff cleaned."

Rye rolled his eyes and took out his lightsaber hilt.

"Okay, I'm explaining." Ephraim said, starting to panic, and placing his retracted lightsaber back on his belt. Rye halted his action to let him speak. "I was never a servant of the dark side; I'm a double agent. I work for them, but I am loyal to the Republic." Rye raised an eyebrow. "There's a plan Exar and I have-"

"Exar's a part of this?" Rye asked rather loudly.

"He's not with the enemy." Ephraim reassured, throwing his hands up. "Believe me, he's innocent."

"What about that 'Mirtis' incident?"

"I had _nothing_ to do with that."

"Why does he call himself that?"

"Uh..." Ephraim then looked confused. "I actually don't know. It was a nickname he was given in training. You could ask him about that."

"You injured them. You _scarred our_ _ **team**_. You single-handedly destroyed a fleet on Kamino. Mostly."

"I did, but I didn't."

"What?" Rye's face contorted into an expression of confusion and disgust. "Are you a clone or something?"

"No. If I was simply a clone, I wouldn't know things the real Ephraim knows."

Rye seemingly understood, but it was hard to tell. "Huh. Where's the real you?"

"On the Imperial superweapon."

...

"What... superweapon?" Rye asked slowly and intimidatingly.

"It's a new Death Star." Ephraim unenthusiastically answered in a heartbeat.

"Really?" Rye said with equal unenthusiasm.

"It's actually quite advance-" Ephraim paused for a dramatic moment.

"What?"

"I have to go. Believe me, all will be explained." Ephraim said, wrapping himself in a dark cloak and falling through the floor, disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

Rye stood there, completely stunned.

"Rye?" He heard Erickson behind him. He turned and faced the three of them with a face that told them everything.

Exar heard a knock right before Ephraim broke the connection. Exar faced hyperspace as he snapped back to the present. He wondered about the master Ephraim told him about. Could the Republic and the Jedi stand a chance against this figure? If he is as powerful as he sounded, then the odds might just be against them. Exar felt doubtful at the moment, but still had faith that they could make it. But how could they? This master sounded like the most powerful being in existence, like a living incarnation of the dark side.

 _'Brought back to life?'_ He thought, slapping his forehead.

 _"Everything alright, Exar?"_ Viran asked.

Exar slowly removed his hand from his face and answered, "So far so good."

Then they arrived at Kashyyyk.

"Any word on why we're being summoned to _Kashyyyk_?" Ailurah asked Kaiyah. The two and Becky were being escorted from Coruscant to Kashyyyk. Fro reasons unknown to them.

"We're going on a mission." Becky replied.

"How do you-" Kaiyah asked.

"It's obvious. People of our talent; what else would they use us for?"

"I wouldn't say they're _using_ us. Maybe we'll be registered with the Republic." Ailurah guessed.

"Unlikely. No one has been 'registered' with the Republic for a long time. Whatever we'll be doing is most likely mission-related."

"Probably." Kaiyah agreed.

Becky looked around the shuttle. _'If they know of our talents-'_ The Republic shuttle landed on the platform, and an welcoming committee/escort greeted them. _'Then why do you feel an escort is necessary?'_

They entered the main base on Kashyyyk, and were guided into the meeting room, where many people were gathered. People and aliens, fighters and pilots, beings of all kinds.

"Well whatever it is, it certainly isn't a party." Ailurah said.

"Ah, glad you could make it." Exar piped up, Ephraim beside him.

"What is it that's happening?" Kaiyah asked.

"We're going to attack the enemy's superweapon." Ephraim said with a slightly downcast expression.

"Called it." Becky said.

"I bet you did." Exar replied. "Anyway, the Governor and his wife will be laying out the plan for us, shortly. We're currently waiting to make sure everyone is present and accounted for."

"What now then?" Ailurah asked.

"We might as well pick buddies. I heard that teams might be involved." Ephraim said.

Exar frowned. He didn't hear anything about that. We're just blowing up a Death Star, _'Why are we going to need teams?'_ He then asked, "Really? What for?"

"We'll find out."

Bennar was feeling off at the moment, and Calista was trying to comfort him. "I really don't think I can focus enough to go over the plan; much less lead the attack. That sith has severely messed up my mind, and I need time to recover." Bennar explained.

"Try focusing on what calms you."

"I've tried everything my mind could come up with, and nothing has change-" He stopped short and fell to the floor.

"Bennar!" Calista dropped to her knees and shook him. But he was unresponsive. She checked his pulse, and felt his heartbeat. He was still alive, but to her, it just seemed as though he passed out. _'Force-related happenings were never my speciality, but I'm betting he's having a vision.'_ She got up and let him have his privacy. When she exited, Vustine and Bree were there.

"How's he doing?" Vustine asked.

"It's... probably best we leave him alone. He's going through a bit in his head."

"I could probably make something of it; I've dealt with this sort of thing before." Vustine said.

"Good to know. We'll see about that later." Then they headed to the briefing room.

 _'Was it a vision?'_

Yes it was.

Exar met up with Ephraim before the meeting started. "What are we going to do about your master? If he knows the attack is coming, then should we cancel the attack?"

"No. Goodness, no. Our lives may be at stake, but I now realize trillions more will be doomed if we don't go through with this."

Exar nodded, then looked down. He continued shaking his head, while looking all around him at the people who were about to sacrifice their lives. He looked back at Ephraim, then desperately requested, "Tell me we have a backup plan."

Ephraim's gaze diverted beside Exar, thinking about what they could possibly do to prevent the master from destroying all they knew to be good. "All we _can_ do is... hope the force will be ever in our favor."

Then Calista, Bree, and Vustine stepped up to the front of the room, behind the hologram table. "Attention!" Calista shouted, turning every head her way. Most of them rubbed their ears. _'I ought to keep the Senate voice down. '_ "Keep your attention to the hologram as we demonstrate the plan." She opened a hologram, and there was a TIE station stationed on a moon. They all saw mainly TIE/ni Enforcers all parked in lines, and a few Imperial shuttles behind them. "A low-key source has informed us that the only way to infiltrate the superweapon is with an Imperial shuttle, or fighter. We are appointing Ephraim and Exar's new friends to the mission to retrieve a few vehicles."

Kaiyah, Becky, and Ailurah spotted the base from yards away. Dressed in stealth suits _**(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_ , they dashed towards the base, hiding in the shadows. They hid behind a wing of one of the fighters and gathered.

"I've observed the patrol and have a plan." Kaiyah said quietly.

"You hadn't before?" Becky and Ailurah asked at the same time with equally hushed tones.

"Ha ha! No. Becky and I will simply board one of the shuttles and take off. The shuttle isn't scheduled for takeoff anytime soon, so they'll start firing at us."

"What then? Becky gonna zap them with lightning?" Ailurah asked.

"Only if absolutely necessary. If and when they start firing at us, Alli, you're going to distract them."

"And draw their fire towards me?" Ailurah asked.

"Yeah."

...

"Okay I'm good with that."

"So: board the shuttle, fly the shuttle, get fired at, Alli distracts them." Becky reviewed. "But you know they're smarter than that, right? They won't divert all fire from us."

"You of all people could figure something out." Kaiyah said, patting Becky's shoulder.

"Something _is_ already figured out." Becky replied.

"Well let's _go_ then." Ailurah pushed along.

"Stay here and wait for the signal." Kaiyah told Ailurah as she and Becky ran along the edges of the base. They hid behind the TIE closest to the shuttle.

Becky used the force to open the shuttle door. "Let's go now!" They ran towards the shuttle. Troopers noticed and started blasting at them. Kaiyah and Becky ignited their lightsabers and, without looking, blocked the bolts that darted at them. They luckily only had to block a few before they boarded the shuttle and closed the ramp door.

Ailurah watched the gunplay commence. The tower gun started firing; the shuttle was holding. _'How do I distract them without being a sitting mynock?'_ She then looked at one of the TIEs; she snapped with both hands, then pointed at them, and said, "Yes." She sped and jumped up on one. She opened up the cockpit and jumped in. She quickly activated it and hovered above the ground. She fired back at the tower gun, and the control room.

Security TIE Flats appeared in sight soon. "Oh Karabast!" Ailurah yelled, pulling away from the base to dispose of the incomers.

"I'm going to be taking care of some company." Ailurah said through the pre-made comm system.

 _"Take your time. We've only sustained minor damage. Now that the tower gun is gone, we're good to go."_

 _"They actually have weapons on these?"_ Ailurah heard Becky say.

 _"Okay. Mind a little help?"_ Kaiyah asked.

"Don't mind at all." Ailurah replied, blasting two of the Flats down.

The shuttle followed the security squad and quickly disposed of them. They then flew off to meet the others at the rendezvous point.

 _"That was easier than I expected."_ Ailurah said.

"Seemed a little too easy to me." Becky said. Then she felt something wrong. She frowned, then turned towards the back of the engine. She gasped, then threw Kaiyah and herself out the window. As they fell, they saw the shuttle explode above them.

Ailurah panicked slightly, then swerved down, hoping to catch them.

"Exar Sunrider, here, knows a thing or two about how the enemy fights." Calista said, gesturing to Exar. "He formed a backup plan in case things go awry."

"I've called in a favor, and they're willing to lend a helping hand." Exar said.

But then the gray and red _Delta_ -class T-3c shuttle came along, and they were caught just in time. Ephraim and Exar used the force to pull them in.

"Glad this backup plan worked." Ephraim said.

"Well even if we didn't get the shuttle, we'd still have the TIE." Anson said, coming down the ladder. "Name's Anson Tomas. You can call me that or 'The Tinkerer.' "

"Wait. Was the TIE rigged?" Exar asked.

...

"I don't sense anything." Becky said.

"How can you sense if there's a bomb in a ship?" Anson asked.

Becky held up a couple fingers, then from each finger, came a small bolt of lightning, touching each finger. "Anything mechanical, or electrical, is my speciality. Lightning is preferably and more specifically my thing."

"Well... I didn't see any lightning; but out of your fingers, what were those? Sparkles?"

"She's not going to blast lightning in the ship. By the way, did any of you manage to nab any schedules for the TIE squad?" Exar asked.

"There's one on the TIE. The TIEs they use there are for newbies, so they make sure the pilots are able to keep track of what they're supposed to do." Becky replied.

"That's good to know."

"Coming up to the rendezvous point!" Juntah shouted from the cockpit.

They landed the shuttle on a platform, and everyone exited the shuttle.

"The shuttle looked really familiar; I didn't get a good look at it." Becky said, turning to the shuttle.

"Me neither." Kaiyah did the same.

They observed the T-3c. It looked similar to the shuttle they had, except the cockpit was more triangular, and bigger. And it was painted in red and gray.

"That's not regulation." Kaiyah said.

"I kinda like it." Becky replied.

"Guys, let's go. We have a battle to win." Ephraim said.

"When we get the shuttle, we'll use that to infiltrate the superweapon and lower its shields. After that, the plan should be simple. Blow it up the same way we always do it." Calista finished. "Canyon run."

Bennar was listening in on the plan.

"They're not going to win." He said.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Republic fleet was preparing their ships for the assault. X-Wings, A-Wings, cruisers, and shuttles were all docked all over the docking domes above Coruscant.

Bennar found Calista overseeing the preparations, talking with Bree and Vustine. Calista saw him and excused herself. "Ben, what are you doing? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cal. I don't think we should go through with this."

"Well we've come this far. Are you sure you're alright? You were never one to back down."

"I had no idea what we were up against. _This_ is something we cannot beat."

"Then we can't sit by and let it destroy all the Republic stands for."

"It's a him, Calista. Another sith. The one I encountered on Kamino, is _nothing_ compared to him. When he destroys the Republic, he will be on the brink of galactic domination."

"You didn't have a problem before. Why now?"

"I don't know how, but I sensed a change in our future."

Calista seemed confused. "How?" She decided not to get too far off-topic. "If the future is changeable, who's to say it won't change again?"

" _It won't because I saw it_!" Bennar exclaimed, shaking her shoulders. " _I saw you all_ _ **dead**_!" His words fumbled.

Calista saw glistening in his eyes, and she pulled him in and assured him, "I swear to you, nothing will happen to me." Calista thought about this conversation for a moment, then continued, "This sith is getting into your head. He's trying to break us apart. If we do nothing about this, then things will only get worse; if we stand and fight, then we'll have a chance of a better future."

Bennar returned the hug, and replied, "I want to go with you, but in this crisis, I have to keep the Senate intact. Things will, get a little crazy." He laughed a little, which comforted Calista.

Bree and Vustine met with Sisbar to overview the basic plan of the attack.

"Our X-Wing squadrons will surround the sector housing the Death Star to divert all the TIEs, and the rest of the fleet will aid as a defense against the star destroyers." Sisbar summed up.

"Tidy sum." Bree complemented.

"The Jedi squad will infiltrate the weapon, using their stolen ship, to disable the shields, and the main assault will commence. It's pretty straight forward." Vustine finished.

"Wait, wait, wait. What ship are they to be using?" Bree asked.

"A stolen TIE." Sisbar answered.

"Is a TIE just going to arrive at the Imperial superweapon out of the blue?" Bree asked again.

"Actually, no. According to a flight schedule, all the TIEs are expected to arrive at the weapon soon."

"Why, exactly?" Vustine asked.

Sisbar and Bree were both perplexed at the question; Bree asked, "What do you mean, specifically?"

"I know as a fact, those TIE stations -that the stolen TIE came from- are also flight training camps for new recruits. _Just_ new recruits. For all the stationed TIEs to be scheduled to arrive at the Imperial _superweapon_ of all places, confuses me very much."

"That's not all." Ephraim said, stepping up to the holo-table. "I have news just as suspicious."

"Do tell."

"All Imperial stations in that area have been evacuated." Ephraim replied.

 _'That's not good.'_ Sisbar thought. "They're going to use the superweapon on the nearest planet."

"What's the nearest planet?" Ephraim asked.

Sisbar waited a moment, then replied, "Trandosha."

Ephraim's heart sunk, and he went very pale.

"Trandosha has been a sympathizer of ours for years."

"I think they know." Vustine replied.

"It's right next to Kashyyyk." Ephraim exclaimed, sounding breathless. _'And as long as I'm with them, we're more vulnerable to the Master than ever.'_

"There's too much at stake at the moment." Bennar said as he and Calista approached.

"More reason for us to proceed with the mission, then." Bree said.

"There's a chance we'll all wind up dead, too. We could be risking Trandosha and Kashyyyk," That Bennar knew Kashyyyk was also at risk, got Ephraim's attention. "But we could also be risking our lives before we get the chance to succeed."

"What does that mean?" Vustine asked.

"I had a vision. All of us dead. And at the throne, was a sith-like demon."

"What was the sith like?" Ephraim asked with -as Bennar saw it- unusual concern.

"I didn't get a full frontal view, but he was the most powerful being I had ever seen, and horrors like nothing we ever had nightmares about. It was like he held the dark side of the force in the palm of his hand. And all of life in the other."

"Then we'll be sure to stop this superweapon before anything happens. We have all we need on our side." Sisbar told him.

"I really don't think so. But Calista believes that this future will change, so I will try to believe so as well."

"Ma'am." A rebel officer shouted to Calista. "All -present and accounted for- are prepped for takeoff."

"Good. We'll be onboard shortly."

The soldier nodded, then signalled other workers to give the green light for takeoff.

"I have to stay." Bennar said. "To maintain all 'goings on' here."

"I have to stay to manage the welcoming committees." Sisbar said.

Calista, Bree, and Vustine headed to board their ship. "Do these people know what they're risking by taking this mission?" Bree asked.

"They know they're risking their lives every time they assist in an attack." Calista replied.

"Do they know _everything_ that's being risked?"

"Let's hope not. If what Ben says is true, they would run in terror. Let's hope they don't come to realize everything we're up against."

"Now _that's_ a risky move."

Bennar watched as every ship exited the docking bay, and entered hyperspace. Knowing this could've been the last he saw of the Republic was unsettling to him; he suddenly felt a pang of guilt rile up within him as he wished he could've given Calista the proper goodbye in case he wouldn't see her again.

Rye explained his confrontation with Ephraim in full detail to Erickson, Nicolette, and Nikki.

"So, he just... poofed?" Erickson asked.

"I had no idea he was force-sensitive. All throughout these years, I never sensed anything or suspected anything from him. He did well, keeping it from us."

"When he returns, he'll explain." Nicolette affirmed.

"You did always have a way with interrogation." Erickson said.

"He seemed strong with the force. I think he's had a somewhat bumpy past concerning his abilities, and maybe he'd like to... do better." Nikki suggested.

"The dark side was strong with him. In more ways than one. I think there's something else going on with him, that's beyond even his understanding." Rye said.

"Like what?" Erickson asked.

"I don't know; it's... beyond my understanding."

"Well, what can we do now?" Nikki asked.

"We haven't been assigned to this mission, strangely, so I say we just enjoy each others' presence." Erickson said.

Kaiyah visited Becky in the rear of one of the ships. Becky summoned her once she had an epiphany about the current happening.

"What is it?" Kaiyah asked.

"Through the force, I've realized something." Becky replied. "We have two options that decide how this will end. We might all die, and evil will consume the galaxy, or we might obtain victory... but still delay that inevitable outcome."

"Inevitable outc- there are only _two_ outcomes? To me that's very disappointing. I always thought there were millions."

"Well, there _is_ another, but it's clouded; despite my efforts, I couldn't see anything down that path clearly."

"What _can_ we do about it?"

"I'm afraid _we_ can't do anything. It's not within our mortal power to alter our futures. We'll just have to hold out, and hope for the best."

Kaiyah managed a small smile. "All the years I've known you, you've never been stumped."

" **Ha**! I've been stumped, but you were never able to notice it. In all honesty, I believe we'll be fine."

"To put it simply: I think we might have a more positive outcome, but not without loss."

Becky then felt a surge of slight panic coursing through Kaiyah. "Ephraim will be alright. He's the most powerful of all of us."

"Yes, yes. I know. It's his affiliation with the Empire I'm worried about. He's been a part of it for a long time, so if anything, he's in more danger than us." Kaiyah reasoned.

"He's _going_ to be _fine_."

...

"What's on _your_ mind?" Kaiyah asked.

"I want to see down that third path. I want to know if there's a future where we all emerge from this battle _'okay.'_ I worry for all of us. You, Ephraim, Exar, Ally, all of them. You guys are what I've had my whole life, and I'd hate to lose any of you."

"I may not be as perceptive as you, but I know we'll all be alright."

"That's what I keep telling myself."

"I bet it is. Now come on, let's move to a less dingy room, like the only other room here."

Calista looked over the takeoff of each ship in orbit. "All X-Wings report in." She commanded.

" _Red Leader standing by_." All members of Red Squad, present and accounted for, responded afterwards.

 _"Gold Leader standing by."_

 _"Green Leader standing by."_

Every X-Wing squad member reported in. "All Y-Wings report in."

 _"Blue Leader standing by."_ All members of Blue Squad, present and accounted for, responded afterwards.

 _"Orange Leader standing by."_

 _"Gray Leader standing by."_

Every Y-Wing squad member reported in. "Excellent. All cruisers are present."

 _"Jedi teams standing by."_ Viran commed.

 _"Rogue Team standing by."_

"Who's Rogue Team?" Calista asked.

 _"This is Exar Sunrider of the team of Masters Rye and Erickson."_

" _They_ aren't here. Who's in your team?"

 _"Primarily, other force-sensitives. Friends of mine, and the rest of my team."_

 _'Very well.'_ Calista thought. "All ships, you are clear to proceed. Enter hyperspace with these new coordinates, and once you arrive, you wait for my mark."

She witnessed all ships entering hyperspace, and followed them when no other ship was present above the planet.

The Master arrived in the control room, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He simply approached the window and stared. "Report the sighting of Republic crafts."

"Uh, sir, we, we don't have any-"

"Look again."

The officer searched the computers for reports, and was notified of a new one at that second. He opened it and read it out loud. "Several Republic ships have been spotted, dropping out of hyperspace a parsec away."

Another officer proclaim, "I shall have all fighters pursue."

The Master stuck his hand out, silencing him. "Just wait. Let them come." His face turned only slightly, menacing the officer with that small gesture.

"Yes sir." He gulped, then returned to his position.

Erk meditated in his quarters. His force-astral form emitted from him, but he was able to see it.

"They're coming." The astral form said.

"They're going to lose. The Master is here, and he foresaw the fight. Did you not tell them the secret yet?" Erk asked.

"I couldn't; I never had the opportunity."

"You may have just dissevered the future, and the path we took. Our future predicting will be helpless from now on. We're on a different, unforseen path now."

"If all goes well, this mission could be a success."

"Only time will tell. On a new path, not even the Master can look into it."

Ephraim awoke from his communication. His friends were around him, using the force to bridge the connection to allow the astral meeting to take place.

"What happened? What did, you, say?"

"I was supposed to reveal to the Republic that I was Erk, the sith that was rumored about. As a mole in the Empire, I could've been the Republic's source of intel against the enemy. But it didn't happen." Ephraim explained.

"Okay. And?" Exar wondered.

"Exar, that was the path we took. We were setting up events to make peace happen, but we strayed from our path, and created a new one. Another alternate fate."

 _'The third path?!'_ Becky exclaimed to herself. Kaiyah seemed to have thought similarly; she lightly elbowed Becky with an equally surprised expression on her face.

"With a new fate being decided, I believe we have a bigger chance against the Empire now."

 _'If_ _ **that's**_ _enough to cheer Ephraim up, I'll believe in a lighter conclusion down this path.'_ Becky thought.

Ezra called Sabine in their ship. He sensed something was off about her, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

"You called me, Ezra?" She called.

"Yeah. Stay there; I'm suiting up." Ezra shouted from another room.

"So what do you need me for?"

"I want to know what's up." Ezra replied.

"You know what's up. We talked before we left."

"There's something more."

"Oh that." She whispered. "That Exar character seemed disturbed when he shook my hand when we were introduced."

Ezra remembered that, and thought for a second, then responded, "I sensed something wrong too."

"Is it the same thing?"

"I don't know; I'll have to talk to him about what he sensed. _I_ , sensed you having a big future ahead of you. And because of that, I know you'll survive. And knowing you, I know I'll survive as well."

"You can never be too careful."

"Clearly you don't know me as well as I thought you did."

Sabine rolled her eyes and grinned. Ezra then stepped out. "What do you think?"

Sabine could only smile wider.

 _ **(See chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the illustration to be seen here)**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _ **(Those of you who read my not-so-well-written prequel "**_ _ **The Dark Side Or The Light?**_ _ **" will be pleased to know that I am rewriting the whole thing.)**_

"Okay so who of us will enter the Death Star with the TIE?" Exar asked.

"I actually have to." Ephraim said. "There is one last thing I have to do before my prediction abilities go dark."

"Okay, so, Ephraim and?"

"You need to accompany me." Ephraim told him.

"Well why didn't you say so?" Exar asked sarcastically.

"We need to make all necessary switches now. We don't want to linger around to get caught with that thing." Aang said.

"Good point. Let's go." Ephraim said.

They both got up, but Kaiyah caught Ephraim's arm. "You know what's waiting there for you."

"I do, and I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I _do_ need to do this." Ephraim wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be alright. Of that I know." Kaiyah heard the sincerity in his tone, and knew that he knew what he was talking about.

She returned the hug and replied, "Don't get hurt before we get there."

"Tell Exar that. He's still no match for me."

"I heard that." Exar spoke up.

"You stay safe as well." Kaiyah said as they side-hugged.

"Don't worry about me. I'll have a _big_ and _strong_ _ **man**_ whom I am no match for watching over me." He said, playing with her.

"Don't embarass yourself." She replied, stifling a reaction.

"Don't worry about _me_. I know things _he_ doesn't."

He stopped the conversation and he and Ephraim bid everyone else farewell.

They went down to the storage area, and opened up the tube in the floor, and jumped into the TIE.

"The shipment of TIEs should be arriving any second n- there they are." Ephraim said as he flew the ship over to the TIE squad. "Exar, I have a plan. They'll know this TIE was missing, and will inspect it."

"Right. What do you have in mind?"

The TIE landed with the others in the bay, and the liquid-like doors closed.

Exar and Ephraim noticed an inspection team coming towards them, and prepared themselves.

As they reached the ship, they ordered them to exit the shuttle. Ephraim exited the shuttle, using the force to dress himself in his sith regalia. "Officers. I have recovered the stolen TIE from the Republic. Many lives were taken from them in the midst."

"Uh, very good sir."

"You may report that. I will be off to my quarters. Summon me if anything goes wrong."

"Mysterious things have been going on recently. And as a precaution established by the Master, we will escort you."

Erk accepted, and he was soon out of Exar's sight.

"Be quick." Exar said, ducking in the TIE.

Calista answered a comlink call from Exar. "Yes?"

"Ephraim and I are in. I'm currently waiting for a signal to let you guys know when you can do your thing."

"Excellent. Stay low."

 _'What do you_ _think_ _I'm doing?'_ Exar asked in his head as the call ended.

Erk arrived at the door in his quarters, and the escort -an officer and a couple stormtroopers- was behind him. "Be off now." Erk ordered.

"If I may sir." The officer stated. Erk turned and faced him. "I distinctly recall the Master ordering you to remain here in the weapon for the time being. I don't think he'll be pleased if he finds out you weren't here the whole time."

"Oh but I was." Erk said as he noticed the stormtroopers raised their blasters. He force-pulled their weapons from them, held on to one of the blasters, and smacked them hard across their faces with the blaster. They fell to the floor, unconscious. Erk dragged them into his quarters and stuffed them into his conveniently-sized closet. Then he saw the other Erk meditating on the floor.

An officer was passing by the hallway, then he felt something fluidly squish under his boot. He looked down and saw a small strand of blood. He bent down and then saw a trail of blood leading into Erk's room. He stood, then stood in front of the door. He hesitated, then opened it. He recoiled and nearly screamed at what he saw.

Exar was waiting in the TIE for a few minutes, beginning to get nervous. Then from inside the TIE, he heard an alarm ringing outside. He saw every trooper in the bay rush out, following the instructions that were muffled to him.

" _This is Exar. Come in_."

Calista picked up the comlink. "What have you got?" She asked.

 _"Some ships may follow my trail and proceed to the docking bay. An alarm has raised and the room is almost entirely empty."_

"That's odd."

" _Oh that's not all. The security has just shut down here_."

Calista rushed her Republic general. "Tell the first squad to get going!"

The X-Wings of orange squad, followed by Ezra's ship, followed Exar's trail and quickly flew to the weapon.

Some of the soldiers, as they beheld the weapon, began to question their objective.

" _Orange leader, do we know exactly what we're doing_?" A pilot asked.

" _I wasn't told much either, but it's fairly clear now_." Orange Leader replied.

The X-Wings entered the bay, and it was then that Exar knew one detail was forgotten. Imperials up in the control towers in the bay were still there, and they were reporting the invasion.

Exar hopped out of the TIE and whipped out his blaster and shot the Imperial who reported. Others were seen, and they saw, and they began shooting at Exar. Exar used the TIE wing as a barracade, and shot back.

As Orange Squad exited their fighters to assist, one of its members shot up the control tower. Then he jumped out and joined the others.

Ezra's ship landed and he and Sabine were soon with them.

"Alright. Orange Leader, you take some of the squad and secure the next hangar bay. Ezra, go with them." Exar ordered. Ezra and Orange Leader nodded, and they picked a group of soldiers to accompany them.

"What are _we_ doing, sir?" One of the remaining asked.

"We're heading to the core and we're going to to detonate this heap of junk." Exar replied. Sabine intertwined her fingers and stretched her hands outward, cracking her knuckles. Exar noticed and inferred, "Explosives specialist?"

"Call me an expert." Sabine pushed.

"Alright, let's go. The Imperials might be back soon." Exar led.

The other half of Orange Squad sneaked into the control tower via elevator in the neighboring docking bay. Half of _that_ team stole stormtrooper disguises and remained on the ground.

Once the door opened in the tower, they immediately raised their blasters and shot all Imperials in record time.

"Hack the security guns and disable all cameras." Orange Leader said.

The brains of the squad immediately began his work. In seconds, he had all guns in his control, and tapped into the security grid. The room was under the squad's control.

Orange Leader turned on the docking bay intercom and spoke. "This is Orange Leader of the Republic. My squad and I have taken over the control tower and have the weaponry under our control. Drop your weapons and surrender now or we will open fire on all of you."

The team noticed stormtroopers looking at them, and looking around seeming confused. Then the leader noticed a couple stormtroopers setting up a cannon.

"Ah, don't think so." He spoke into the intercom again before one of the guns shot the cannon and blew it up. "I repeat: surrender now or we will open fire on all of you. You know what?" Orange Leader shut off the intercom and told the gun controller, "Take out the TIEs."

 _'I wonder what Ephraim was doing.'_ Exar thought.

All of a sudden, Erk appeared beside them in a puff of smoke, transformed, and led the team with Exar. "The core is this way." He said.

"Who is this?" Calista asked.

"He's a friend of ours." Exar answered.

Calista looked at Viran for affirmation; he had been around the team recently. Viran nodded, and she was content. Though she was fairly suspicious; something about Exar's friend seemed familiar to her, but she knew now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

They turned corners, descended and ascended floors. Anytime they encountered a pack of Imperials, Erk shot them all with lightning; though they all knew the rest of the station would be alerted of their presence.

They stopped at a big door; Exar was about to open it, but Erk stopped him.

"Guys." He started. "I don't know if I'll make it out okay, but if it comes to our getting caught, I'm going to need to make it seem like I captured you."

"Right. Good idea. Let's not _all_ not get caught."

"Yeah. When we open the door, there's going to be another room of radiation suits that we're supposed to put on before we enter the reactor core." Erk explained.

"Funny, I didn't think stormtroopers needed that. Don't these new designs filter out radiation?"

"They do, but stormtroopers aren't the ones who go down here." Erk replied, opening the door.

They all went in and grabbed a suit of the many that hung on the wall. "This has been easier than expected." Sabine said.

Erk sensed people on the other side of the door. Many people. "It's a setup." Erk said. "There are troopers waiting for us on the other side."

"You were just coming around, Ephraim. Don't start getting dark on us now." Exar said. "Besides, I have a plan."

Stormtroopers surrounded the core, covering half the ground in the area. They waited for something interesting to happen, and they weren't disappointed. The door opened, and Erk was seen flying down, as if pushed by the force. He landed on the ground, and looked up at the group. "They're here."

The whole team jumped down, and they were face-to-face with them. Then the silver stormtrooper pushed to the front. "Erk. So good to have you back. Let's deal with these guys."

Ezra hung around the bay, clearing things out. Once there was enough room made, he gave a thumbs up to Orange Leader.

" _Lieutenant Governor, this is Orange Leader. The second bay is open. We should receive word from the inside team about the core soon_."

"Very good. Maintain position until further notice." Calista said.

" _Very good, Lieutenant Governor_."

Calista opened another channel and spoke, "Rogue Squadron, now is your chance."

Kaiyah heard the message, and she and Jo piloted the ship towards the weapon as fast and as steadily as they could. They entered and landed in the bay without a disturbance.

"You'd think there'd be more security around. Not even a checkpoint outside the bay." Jo said.

"That's the kinda thing I'm worried about." Kaiyah replied.

"Alright guys, let's go." Aang told everyone else; as they met with the group of Orange Squad in the bay, he commed Exar. "Exar, come in. Is the reactor secure?"

" _What do you think? There are others here. Get here now_. _I'm sending you our path._ " Exar replied.

"I'm afraid they won't reach you in time." Jayko told Exar as he ignited his lightsaber. As he did, the stormtroopers on the outside activated big shields to keep others from getting past. "Let's go."

Exar faked a yawn, then flamboyantly whipped his hand to his left, and most of the troopers in the front were tossed to the other side of the room. Jayko looked over at the troopers Exar pushed, then back at Exar as if he didn't care. "You know that isn't going to help." He then shouted to the troopers behind him, " _Take them_ _ **down**_!"

"I got the Zabrak. Take the Mandalorian." Erk said, approaching Exar with his black lightsaber.

Jayko launched towards Sabine with his red lightsaber, and she ducked his swings, then brought out her beskar-forged saber and held against him.

"The mighty Sabine Wren. I must say I'm surprised to see you here." Jayko said.

"Oh you know me?"

"I only know of one Mandalorian with such a color scheme as this on her armor." They broke away and thrusted and jabbed at each other. They locked blades together and Jayko continued, "You were of the Ghost crew of Lothal, many years ago. You've been stationed on Lothal with Ezra Bridger, Lothal's prince."

 _'Prince?'_ Sabine thought, quite shocked. Seeing Sabine slightly distracted, he took his chance and swung at her and grazed her shoulder.

"Gettin' slow?" Jayko asked.

"Being older has its benefits." Sabine told him. "First off, we're more familiar with strategy."

A paint bomb then exploded on Jayko's helmet, covering his eyes. Sabine then delivered a hard kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground. She then ran towards him and delved her sword down to stab him, but he grabbed the saber -not being able to see it- and force-pushed her off of him.

He got up and glared at her. "I don't need strategy to defeat you." He removed his helmet from his head and dropped it on the ground. He then pointed his lightsaber at her. "I have the force." He then outstretched his other hand and Sabine was shoved into the wall. With a grunt, she fell to the floor.

Sabine managed to recover in time to grab her saber and block the downward strike from Jayko. "Second off..." She grunted. "The element of surprise."

A blue blade pierced Jayko's chest from behind. He was lifted into the air, moved backwards, then dropped to the ground as the blade retracted. Exar stepped in front and kneeled in front of him. "Remember me?" He asked.

Jayko only grinned. "You won't-" He coughed up blood. "You won't win." He collapsed to the ground. "He's-" He said as almost a whisper, "He will always be-" He coughed again, "One, step, ahead." Then he closed his eyes for his eternal rest.

The stormtrooper generals stood shocked as they witnessed Jayko's death. "The captain is dead. Repeat: the captain is dead. We need backup immedia-" Exar shot him before he could finish, but he knew as well as everyone else that he was too late.

Exar turned to Sabine, "You got the detonator switch?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I got it." She replied, running through her waist bags. She pulled out the switch and showed it to him, then put it back as to not lose it.

"We're going to need to be quick. Backup is on its way."

"How are we going to get out in time before it blows? The only exit is the way we came in from?"

"We're going to set a timer, then we'll fuse shut both doors after we're out; that should buy us enough time."

Ezra and Orange Leader's squad and Rogue Squad arrived in the reactor, and shortly got rid of the rest of the stormtroopers. Exar approached Ezra and requested a report.

"After 'Rogue Squad' arrived, TIEs noticed and tried blowing us out. But the Republic fleet arrived in time. So yeah, there's a big battle going on outside." Ezra answered.

"Help us set up these detonators and bombs quickly so we can leave this mess." Exar said.

Everyone grouped around the reactor to place bombs around it. Ephraim stayed behind. He looked on as everyone continued working. As he sensed troopers approaching, he shouted, "We're too late!" Everyone acknowledged him. "They're a room away, so I need a victim."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Exar asked.

"Trust me on this." They heard footsteps approaching. "If they find me with you, they'll kill me too, and we'll... sorry." He force-pulled Ezra to him and ignited his lightsaber. "I mean no hostility towards any of you."

The door opened, and two of Jayko's heavily-armored troopers entered the room, followed by a company of stormtroopers.

" **Put your weapons down or he dies**!" Erk shouted at them, drawing his lightsaber towards Ezra's neck.

"Cutting it a little close." Ezra told him with a smirk.

"Quiet." Erk whispered to him. " **Put them down**!"

Knowing a plan was in motion, everyone complied and dropped their weapons.

"Very good work, sir." A heavy trooper complimented.

"Hold them hostage."

"We've been ordered to bring them to the Master."

"There's a space battle going on outside; is it a good idea to bring them to a room with a window? We could easily be sucked out into space."

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

" _He_ captured all of them."

The Republic squads were dumbfounded. This was definitely a turning point for them. Even the force-sensitives could sense Ephraim's panic. All the troopers cuffed the groups, and led them out and away.

Bennar was on his way to meet some company on Coruscant; but all of a sudden, he felt heavily distressed. _'They didn't make it.'_ He assumed. "Calista." He called with worry, then sped up his ship.

They entered the control room, and there, they saw the other leadership of the fleet on their knees in the middle. Exar, Ephraim, and Ephraim's friends shared concerned gazes. As they walked by, Ephraim spotted the crystal ball lying on a control panel and became curious. The stormtroopers shoved the newcomers onto their knees and stood guard.

Then they saw the Master as he turned around and faced them. "I must admit it's a sheer pleasure to meet all of you. Although I can't speak for all of _you_."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _ **(I am uploading two chapters in one day due to the hurricane coming my way; I might not be able to upload tomorrow.)**_

"You're the one?" Exar said through gritted teeth.

"The one and only. Tell me Jedi, do you know where you are?"

Confused at the question, Exar answered, "Just... another Death Star."

"And you planned on destroying it the same way, I assume?"

"The one and only way."

The Master just snickered. Erk went up and handed him all their lightsabers in a bundle, and Kaiyah, Ailurah, and Becky stood behind him. "Ah. All the Jedi we have, here. This is exactly how I envisioned the fall of the Republic- Oh my! I believe I have the infamous Jedi Master Bridger."

"The one and only." Ezra copied.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." The Master responded, leaving Ezra with an extremely muddled expression.

"Do your math. There are many more Jedi out there." Aang told him.

"Definitely. Yes, I know. All those weak links have served their purpose; I have all that I need right, here." The Master gestured to all of them. "The Jedi padawan trio who sought out the sith, Master Vustine, Viran Fexive, and..." He stopped. "Huh. It seems I don't have the Governor. Ah well when I'm done here, we'll hunt him down."

Calista flinched at that, and the Master sensed it. "Well what do we have here?" He approached Calista in the front and bent down. "I believe this is the Governor's wife? _Lieutenant_ Governor, Calista Calfan. Your husband, how is he holding up? I hear there's quite a stir going on with him?"

Calista only struggled against her binds; her persistence made him grin. He straightened up, and drifted his gaze to Aang. He used the force to lift him into the air and to bring him forward. "Oh, you, you're the strong one. I sense a strong conviction within you. You'd do anything for your Republic, wouldn't you?"

"I'd take you down in a heartbeat."

The Master laughed. "Not even in the face of the dark side would you back down. You have potential."

"I'll live up to it, and _then_ , your Empire will fall. And I don't think that will take long."

The Master laughed again, shortly. "You're a confident boy." The he dropped him to the ground. "You have good friends, yes?" He used the force to pull Exar and Jo to him, and dropped them next to Aang. "You are the three. The three that set off the chain of events that led you _all_ here. I ask: what led you here?"

"What do want from us?" Exar asked.

"And why does your mask look like a bug?" Jo asked.

The Master stopped in his tracks, confused and shocked. _'Who is this kid?'_ "What do you say brought you here? What began it all? It's a simple question that requires a simple answer."

"We were supposed to hunt you down."

"Me? You were after my agent, Sion II. You have also successfully killed the son of Ren. You became so close to victory, but had it ripped from you. You know what? Why don't I give you a pointer?" The Master took a lightsaber from the bundle and held it in front of Exar. He used the force to hold Exar's arm outward, but Exar couldn't move it. Exar was able to take the lightsaber, and was able to move his thumb, but nothing else.

The Master used the force to pull Erk to him. He held Erk by the back of his neck, and Erk's face in front of the hilt Exar was holding. "Kill him." The Master ordered.

Exar and his friends' heart dropped. Erk's master had him backed in a corner. They both knew the Republic didn't know of Exar's friend's identity, therefore Exar knew most of his companions wished he'd strike the sith down; and Exar was sure that if Erk died, both sides would lose a valuable source of intel.

"Go on. Strike him down." The Master ordered again. "It's what you were assigned to do. Do it for your Republic."

Exar was trembling.

"Why can't you do it?"

Nothing happened.

"I'll show you why!" The Master told everyone. He ripped off Erk's hood and revealed his face. The teen Jedi could sense the shock in those who did not supect. That and the massive aura of fear consuming Ephraim.

The Master threw Ephraim on the ground next to Exar. " _He_ , _amongst your ranks_ , _has served as a sith under my rule_. _How could a Republic, as seemingly_ _ **strong**_ _as yours, be penetrated by the likes of your enemy_?"

Calista dwelled on the revelation just shown to her. _'Bennar saw the fall of the Republic. It must have started with the sith on the inside. Ephraim. He's the one who attacked on Kamino.'_

" _The Republic must fall_! _It is_ , _and_ _ **always has been**_ _unstable_!"

"What are you going to do about it?" Aang asked. "When one falls, another takes its place."

The Master was unphased. He bent down in front of Aang and glared. "A Republic crumbled from the inside, cannot rise again." He stood up and continued speaking. "Did you really think you could defeat us so easily? The reactor core, cannot, be disrupted. Not by explosives; It has been specialized to withstand more than a dozen fleets-worth of fusillades. You would have all died before you could've escaped. Now, you're at my mercy. And there is no mercy with the dark side."

"What do you want?" Exar asked, trembling.

"Galactic Calamity. There has been no peace for a millennium, so _things_ ,need to change."

Aang remembered something. "The extinction of the sith over a millennium ago brought hundreds-"

"Oh if only you knew." The Master interrupted. "What? Did you think the Separatist Alliance grew on a tree? No. No, foolish child. The events of the Galactic Civil War were precidented during the Mandalorian Wars. Much time was spent building up to that Civil War, to eventually build up to the war of the Empire and the Rebellion, then the First Order, now it's us. Constant war has ruined the galaxy, and to no avail did it establish peace with a stable government. The cycle needs to break. We will finish the work started, and end the Jedi. Even Luke Skywalker felt the same way."

Jo flinched.

"Oh if only _you_ knew." Aang mirrored. He could sense the Master's curiosity. "I'm not a child."

The Master took hold of that, then probed Aang's mind. Aang struggled against the Master, but he was no match. The Master roamed free.

"Well well. I sense a disturbance in your mind. A tampering. You've managed to stay young for decades... But you're afraid of what's to come."

"Stop." Aang growled.

"You don't want to let your friends down, but by acting upon your fears you have only sealed your fate. You're afraid you won't be there when you're needed most."

"Stay out of my head."

"Above all you're afraid of failure."

Aang stared hard into his eyes.

"You got the Republic here in my grip. In the hands of its destruction. I don't think you could've failed them more." The Master said.

Ezra recalled similar words from one of his early days. _'Lothal's Jedi Temple.'_

"What's your point?" Aang asked.

"It's impossible for a good Jedi to live in fear, or any other element of the other side."

Aang laughed, "Are you accusing me of being a sith?" He asked.

The Master didn't give a direct answer; he simply turned around and stared out the window. "The dark side, is the true way of life; Its capabilities are limitless. The Jedi: they're blind to the power they possess. They only use a fraction of the capacity they wield. Us sith, we're not afraid to take the next step to unearth the full potential of the force. We," The Master turned and looked Aang's way, "Can postpone death."

Aang saw the direction he was headed.

"The dark side of the force is the only way, to the _one_ thing all men long for."

"Pfft. Death and destruction?" Aang snickered.

"Immortality." The Master replied, silencing everyone immediately. "Many did not think it was possible, but I have found the way."

"The dark side is a one-way trip." Exar said.

"Once you go down the dark path, there _is_ no going back." The Master finished for Exar. "You will know peace, and you _will_ ,know the true beauty of the force."

"Or the sheer terror of its consequences." Exar responded.

"Consequences? Jedi child, it is not _I_ who is to face its consequences." He paused for a moment. "Enter hyperspace at the given coordinates." He commanded the officers. Everyone soon heard the activating of the engines, and the stars speeding by.

"The Jedi suffer, from a lack of knowledge. Knowledge that would instruct them further, even in their ways. The Jedi suffer from _ignorance_. They reject outside knowledge, and _concede strictly_ , to their now-primitive rituals. We of the dark side, are not afraid to move on. The old days pass, and people move on. The Jedi die, for _they_ are afraid. They live consistently in fear, and because of it, they're defeated constantly. The sith aren't afraid; we _grow_ more powerfulin the dark side. It is because of the power of the dark side, that the sith survive."

"And Jedi rise to meet it. The dark side always demises."

"Ah, _but_ , young Jedi, everything comes to an end. A wheel cannot perpetually roll; it _too_ must stop."

"But it always gets picked back up." Aang argued.

"Not always the same way, though. It _will_ get picked up, but will it be rolled backwards from its original course? Or say it _goes_ the same, but it won't face the same way; another face of destiny. There are multiple destinies; _no one_ can know for sure where the force will take them. Yes, the Jedi have been known to win in the past, but the cycle _is_ breaking."

"All this talk of the power of the dark side, yet no matter how many generations pass, the Jedi _always_ ,overpower the sith. In the end, we _will_ defeat you." Aang said, still unphased.

The Master nodded to Imperial officers, who dropped the Death Star out of hyperspace. And there they saw Kashyyyk. The Jedi trio and Erk became worried.

"That's Kashyyyk. Masters Rye and Erickson are still there." Jo whispered to Viran.

"Wait, what's going on?" Exar asked.

"It has been said: the full power of the Death Stars can't compare to the full power of the dark side. Since none of you were around to see it, let me _show_ you the _full_ power of the weapon."

"Wait, w-" Exar couldn't speak.

"FIRE!" The Master shouted.

Everyone could hear the hum and the whirring of the lasers. The Jedi trio were struggling hard against their cuffs, begging and screaming for the shot to be called off, but the Master ignored and looked on in pride as the green energy beam shot out and destroyed Kashyyyk. He then heard their screams of desperation and agony. Erk only looked down in sorrow.

But Erk then sensed something else going on. He looked up and saw the crystal ball, and it was glowing brightly. He looked out the window, and he saw two comets approaching them; as they got closer, the ball only glowed brighter. _'Oh no.'_ Erk thought.

"And now, I will put you out of your misery." The Master said as he drew a red lightsaber and jumped towards the Jedi to strike them dead, but he was knocked back as the comets broke through the window. People were about to be dragged As they passed through, a hand reached out, then all the glass reversed back into place.

Two figures were seen in the midst of the smoke. Everyone looked on through squinted eyes to see their new visitors.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED...**_

 _ **In 'Youth Wars Part IV: The Cave of Secrets'**_


End file.
